


It Isn't Easy (But It's Worth It)

by whispered_story



Series: It Isn't Easy [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Time, Living Together, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 19:11:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4757693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whispered_story/pseuds/whispered_story
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Right before the start of his sophomore year Jared finds himself without an apartment and without a roommate when Chad decides to move to California. As it turns out, the real problem isn't finding a new place to live but the fact that, once he does, one of his new housemates seems to hate him. Jared can't figure out what Jensen's problem is – nor why the hell he's crushing on him anyway. [reposted, first posted on livejournal 7/2/2012]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [Art](http://smallworld-inc.livejournal.com/15237.html) by the wonderful [smallworld-inc](http://smallworld-inc.livejournal.com)

It's all Chad's fault. 

Most bad things in Jared's life are -- like, the one time Jared found himself locked out of his dorm in just a towel (his RA had eventually taken pity on him and let Jared borrow some clothes) or when their whole floor had thought Jared had chlamydia (Chad had cleared that rumor up by letting everyone know that Jared was, in fact, still a virgin, which really hadn't been that much better).

So Jared really shouldn't be surprised when he finds himself homeless just before the beginning of the new semester. Chad and he had planned on getting an apartment together, but just a couple of weeks before the summer break ended Chad had called Jared up to tell him he was dropping out and moving to California instead to become an actor. Jared secretly suspects Chad was probably just following some hot chick. He also suspects Chad will be back before the semester is over, with his tail tucked between his legs.

At least they hadn't signed the lease for the apartment they'd had their eyes on yet. There's no way Jared would have been able to afford the rent by himself. Not that having no place to stay at all is that much better, really.

Which leaves Jared with the current predicament: trying to find a place to live. It's too late to apply for a dorm and all of his friends who moved off campus are all set; none of them are looking for another roommate. All that's left is going through the housing ads, and hoping he'll find something that is both affordable and not too far away from campus. 

As it turns out, Jared's real worry should have been his potential roommates.

The first room he looks at is in a house full of stoners who offer Jared a joint before he's even seen the room. The second place is an apartment with a girl who claims she's a student, though Jared is pretty sure she's a stripper. The third house is crawling with frat boys, and Jared has nothing against fraternities, really, but he doesn't think it's the kind of place he'd fit in -- judging by the weird looks he gets whenever he asks a question the dislike is mutual. The next place smells so bad Jared almost throws up.

He feels pretty hopeless by the time he walks up the short driveway to the last house. 

The house looks okay from the outside, though it could use a new coat of paint. Jared had talked to a guy on the phone and he'd sounded nice enough, but Jared still tells himself not to get his hopes up too soon. Even if he ends up liking the room that's for rent, there's no guarantee that the guys will want him as a new roommate. With the fall semester starting next week, Jared's sure there's no shortage of students still looking for a place. 

Jared likes to think he's a nice guy and he's pretty uncomplicated, but he's never really been the most popular guy either. In fact, he was pretty much the opposite in high school -- being a member of the drama club, chess club, and the son of the school's English teacher doesn't exactly give you an in with the cool kids. 

Jared feels a little nervous as he rings the bell, wiping his hands on his jeans.

The guy who opens the door looks normal enough. Medium height, brown hair, nice smile.

"Hi. You must be Jared," he says, waving Jared inside. "Come in."

"Thanks," Jared replies. "Hi."

"I'm Misha," the guy offers. "And mi casa es su casa. Or well, it might be if we like you. Whatever."

"Uh, right," Jared says, nodding.

Misha cracks a smile. "Come on, I'll show you the house and introduce you to Chris," he says, then leans in closer. "He's hanging around here somewhere, being grouchy because he needs to get laid. And Jensen and Aldis aren't in -- so it's all up to me and Chris."

"Okay," Jared says nervously, running a hand through his hair, and Misha smirks. Jared's not really sure if it's supposed to be comforting or scary, but he offers a weak smile in return.

Misha's idea of a tour is pretty lacking. It takes them only a couple of minutes before Jared's seen the kitchen (clean by students' standards), the two bathrooms (the counter in the one Jared would be sharing with Misha and Jensen is cluttered with stuff that Misha claims belongs to Jensen, because apparently Jensen is "a prissy princess") and the room that's for rent. It's not huge, but pretty awesome compared to the dorm Jared shared with Chad the previous year, and that's really the best Jared was hoping for.

"This is the living-room," Misha announces, spreading his arms as they step into the room. There's a huge flat screen on the wall, a low shelf that holds a DVD player, an xbox, and several rows of DVDs. Jared finds himself praying they let him move in. 

"And this guy here is Christian Kane. Chris, this is Jared," Misha introduces. He waves his hand at a guy sitting on one of the two ratty couches, playing some video game Jared doesn't recognize.

"Hi," Jared says nervously, holding out his hand.

Chris gives him a once over, and Jared almost pulls his hand back, but then Chris reaches out and shakes it.

"Hey kid," he says. "You looking for a room, huh?"

"Yeah. My friend ditched me last minute," Jared explains.

"Sucks," Chris says. "So, what d'you think? You liked the room?"

Jared nods quickly. "Yeah. It's nice. Everything is pretty great."

"Cool," Chris nods. "Welcome then."

"What?" Jared asks, surprised, and glances at Misha. "Don't you guys want to, uh, I don't know, ask me questions first and stuff?"

Christ chuckles. "Nah, Misha hasn't subtly kicked you out yet, that's good enough for me," he says with a shrug. "He's scarily good at spotting jerks."

Misha smirks at Jared and pats him on the back. "Welcome, roommate," he says.

Jared moves his things in a day later. He doesn't have a lot of stuff but he's glad when Chris and Aldis come out to help him lug in the boxes. Jared likes Aldis immediately -- he chats with Jared like they've been buddies for years, joking around and before Jared knows it he joins in and Chris is rolling his eyes at them.

It's a pretty promising start and Jared thinks maybe he really lucked out with his new living situation.

And then he meets his fourth roommate.

Jensen's in the kitchen, making a sandwich, when Jared and Aldis come in.

"Hey, Jensen," Aldis says. "You and Jared meet yet?"

Jensen turns around, knife poised in his hand. "No," he says and for a second Jared is speechless.

Jensen is pretty much the best looking guy Jared's ever seen: tall, dark blond hair, full lips, and a face so gorgeous it shouldn't be humanly possible. 

"Hi," Jared manages, smiling what he hopes is his best, friendliest smile -- the one that Genevieve claims is irresistible.

That theory is proven wrong when Jensen's expression freezes and he all but scowls at Jared once he's done looking Jared up and down. 

"Hi," he mutters with a curt nod, and then turns back around. And just like that Jared's been dismissed.

Jared's smile drops. Aldis gives him a quizzical look and a shrug. "Probably got up on the wrong foot," he mutters.

Jared smiles weakly and nods. He tells himself it doesn't matter -- so, one of his roommates is a dick. The other three guys have been nice to him, and three out of four isn't too bad.

At first, Jared thinks maybe Jensen is just one of those people who need to warm up to others, but after a week he has to admit he's wrong.

Jensen seems to be doing his best to avoid him, barely speaking more than a handful of words to him and keeping his distance. The few times they're in the same room, Jensen talks to the other guys and all but ignores Jared.

The first morning Jared stumbles into the kitchen, still bleary-eyed and half asleep, Jensen is there, glaring at him over the brim of his coffee mug. Jared tries to ignore him and gets a mug down from the shelf.

"The coffee is mine. You have to make your own pot if you want some," Jensen says before Jared can even set his mug down. Jared just barely suppresses a sigh.

"The pot is still half full," he replies through clenched teeth.

"Tough luck. Guess you have to wait until I'm done," Jensen says. "It's my machine anyway."

"Aldis said all the kitchen appliances are communal."

"Which is why I'm letting you use the coffee machine. Once I'm done with it."

Jared doesn't bother replying to that, just glares at Jensen who just takes a long sip of his coffee, looking positively gleeful.

It doesn't end there. Jensen lets him know in no uncertain terms that Jared better not touch any of Jensen's things in the bathroom they share, that Jensen's room is off limits, and that Jared isn't, under any circumstances, allowed to take any of the food in the fridge that is labeled 'Jensen'.

It would be easier to just write Jensen off if it wasn't for the fact that Jensen's issues with Jared seem to be personal. Jensen's rules don't seem to apply to any of the other guys and he gets on with them like a house on fire. Chris has been his best friend since they were kids, apparently, and Jensen followed him to Boston when he graduated. Aldis and Jensen had roomed together their freshmen year, and they'd met Misha soon after at some party. It makes Jared feel worse, because the other four guys all seem to be best friends and Jensen does his best to make sure that Jared feels excluded. The fact that they're all older than Jared doesn't really make matters easier either.

"I think he hates me," Jared tells Genevieve when they meet up for coffee, frowning.

"He doesn't know you."

"Doesn't seem to be stopping him," Jared replies. "I feel like I'm back in high school and he's the jock deeming me not cool enough to be around him and his friends."

"Oh, Jared," Genevieve says with a sigh. "Is it that bad?"

Jared shrugs. "It's not like I know him, so I don't care. It's just...the other guys are pretty cool and living in the house would be awesome if it wasn't for Jensen."

"Well, if he doesn't like you then he's an idiot," Genevieve says, patting his hand. "And he's totally missing out."

"Yeah," Jared agrees, feeling better as he returns Genevieve's grin.

Jared comes out to his new roommates three weeks into living with them.

Chris and Aldis are bickering over what to watch, stealing the remote from each other and switching channels.

"Oh, dude, that girl is smoking," Aldis says when he lands on a random channel.

Chris cocks his head. "Not too bad," he agrees, and then takes the remote from Aldis again and changes channels.

"Man, come on," Aldis complains. He looks around, then, pleadingly. "Guys, back me up here. Who wants to watch the hot girl?"

"I'm not getting into this. I'm Switzerland," Misha says, shaking his head solemnly. 

"Jared?" Aldis prompts, giving him a hopeful look. "You like hot girls, right?"

"Uh, actually," Jared starts and rubs the back of his neck nervously. "Not so much."

"You're gay?" Misha asks, raising an eyebrow just as Jensen mutters, "Oh great."

Jared's not sure if nobody else heard him or if they're all just ignoring Jensen's comment, but nobody says anything.

"I'm gay," Jared affirms. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course not, dude," Aldis says and Misha and Chris agree. Jensen looks unhappy, but doesn't say anything, and it makes Jared's stomach twist. Having a roommate who is a dick is one thing, but having a roommate who is a homophobic dick certainly makes the whole situation worse.

Genevieve drops down onto the grass next to Jared and hands him a sheet of paper.

"What's this?" he asks, glancing at it.

"Application," she says, grinning. "Lucy quit yesterday because she got offered some kick ass job by one of her profs and we were already understaffed anyway. I figured you might be interested."

"In working at the library?"

"You like books, even if you're a science nerd. It's good money and the job is pretty easy. And you'd get to work with me," Genevieve lists. "Plus, you'd get out of the house more."

"I guess I can't argue with that."

"Nope. Fill it out, hand it in, and the job is yours," Genevieve says, beaming at him. 

Jared nods and does just that.

Three days later, Genevieve's boss calls him and asks him to come in. The job interview, it turns out, is really just about working out a schedule and showing Jared the ropes. He's hung out at the library, reading or working on assignments while Genevieve worked, enough times to know how things work already and Jared's new boss seems pretty pleased with his decision to hire Jared.

"Maybe if you avoid Jensen a little, he'll chill out," Genevieve suggests, giving Jared a hopeful smile as they sort books back into shelves on Jared's first day.

"Doubt it," Jared says, keeping his voice low even though the section of the library is basically empty. "But at least I see him a little less now."

"And you see me more," Genevieve points out, and nudges Jared with her elbow.

"Win, win," Jared agrees.

Of course, a week into his new job, Jensen shows up at the library. He looks as unhappy as Jared feels when he spots him, but Jared does his best to give Jensen a polite, friendly smile. He wouldn't put it past Jensen to complain about Jared if he didn't, really.

Jared busies himself with work and tries to avoid the cluster of tables where Jensen sits down with a stack of books. 

"You didn't tell me he was so hot," Genevieve says when she joins Jared behind the counter.

"Huh?"

"Jensen. I went to spy on him," Genevieve says with a grin. "Unless he moved to a different table and I was totally ogling the wrong guy, your roommate is gorgeous."

Jared shrugs. "He's also a dick," he reminds her.

"Most guys looking like that are. Though, he seems to have gotten both brains and looks, judging by the books he was reading. Biology stuff."

"He's a pre-med."

"Hmm, a future doctor," Genevieve muses.

"Yeah, well, let's hope he learns some manners before becoming a doctor or I pity all his future patients," Jared mumbles.

A couple of hours later, he is checking out books for a guy when Jensen gets in line behind him.

"Here you go," Jared says, handing the books and the receipt back to the guy. 

"Thank you. Really, I wouldn't have been able to find those books if you hadn't helped me earlier."

"That's what I'm here for," Jared replies with a smile and the guy grins back.

"Well, it's appreciated," he says. "Maybe I'll see you around."

Jared nods. The guy steps away and Jared puts on a cheerful smile when Jensen sets his books down on the counter with a heavy thud.

"Do you need all these checked out?" Jared asks.

"Obviously," Jensen bites back, and Jared clenches his jaw and keeps the smile in place. "It's unprofessional to flirt like that at work."

"Excuse me?" Jared asks.

"You heard me."

"Yeah. But I have no idea what you're talking about, Jensen."

Jensen nods at the exit. "The way you flirted with the guy just now," he says, voice disapproving.

"I was being friendly," Jared argues.

"Sure. You looked like you were about to jump him."

Jared bits back a reply and puts the books he just scanned for Jensen onto the counter. "There you go. Have a nice day, Jensen," he says with false cheer. Jensen glares at him. 

"Asshole," Jared mutters when Jensen is out of earshot.

Chris and Misha spontaneously decide to throw a party the following Friday.

Of all the nights, it's the day that Genevieve has a date and the few other friends Jared calls up all have plans already. Jared feels kind of nervous when the first guests start trickling in -- he's met a couple of the people before, and while nobody's ever been anything but nice to Jared, he still feels like the fifth wheel. Everyone is either a senior, like Jensen and Aldis, or already in grad school like Misha and Chris. A couple of guys bring girlfriends who Jared suspects might be his age, but he doesn't manage to strike up a conversation with any of them.

He hangs around at first, chatting with Aldis, but then Danneel, Aldis's girlfriend, shows up and Jared is left alone. He retreats to the kitchen, getting a beer from the fridge and sitting down at the kitchen table with a sigh.

One beer turns into two and then three, and then Misha comes in and talks Jared into trying to punch he made. 

"What is this?" Jared asks, staring down at his glass suspiciously.

"Nothing a minor should drink," Misha replies.

"Misha. I _am_ a minor," Jared reminds him and Misha grins.

"Don't worry, young grasshopper," he says, tipping his own glass in Jared's direction. "Most of our parties don't get busted by the cops."

"Most?" Jared asks worriedly.

Misha claps him on the back and grins widely. "Drink up," he says and gets up, walking out of the kitchen.

Jared takes a tentative sip and almost coughs, but the second sip goes down a little smoother. The alcohol burns down Jared's throat, but most of the taste of the alcohol is masked by sticky sweetness.

By the time he's finished with the punch he definitely feels the affects of the alcohol. He feels much more relaxed and loose, and when a girl comes into the kitchen and starts chatting with him, Jared starts feeling better about the whole party. He lets the girl drag him out into the living-room after they both have another glass of Misha's punch and dances with her. 

He stumbles upstairs a couple of hours later, desperately needing to go to the bathroom. He's sweaty from dancing and more than a little drunk and everything is spinning. 

When he comes back out of the bathroom, patting his hands dry on his jeans, he runs into a solid body.

"Uh, sorry," he mutters, stepping back. He finds himself face to face with Jensen.

"Jared," Jensen slurs, swaying a little. "Hi."

"Hi," Jared replies, awkwardly. "You, uh, okay?"

"Drunk," Jensen says. "Misha's fucking punch."

Jared nods. "What's in that stuff, anyway?" he asks, and his tongue feels heavy and thick in his mouth.

Jensen shrugs. "Everything," he mumbles.

"Hmmm. 's good though."

"Good," Jensen echoes, shuffling closer. "I saw you dance."

"Yeah?" Jared asks stupidly. This close, Jensen looks even more gorgeous. His eyes are impossibly green, framed by dark lashes, and his mouth looks so plush, so inviting. Jared sighs, leaning in unconsciously. To his surprise, Jensen surges up, crashing their lips together.

Jared wants to protest for a split second, push Jensen away because it's _Jensen_. Jensen, who is a jerk and hates him and is homophobic. Jensen, who kisses Jared as if his life depends on it and Jared thinks, fuck it, and sinks into it.

They stand in the middle of the hallway, tongues dancing together, Jensen's fingers twisted in his hair, and their bodies pressed together.

"Room," Jensen pants, breaking away. "Bedroom. Fuck, I want you so bad."

Jared whimpers, dipping back down to kiss Jensen again. They stumble into the wall when Jensen starts pulling Jared down the hallway, lips still fused together. Jared's pretty sure he'll have a bruise in the morning, but he doesn't care. Not when he feels so amazing, Jensen's lips and hands everywhere.

They make it into Jensen's bedroom somehow, and Jensen starts stripping Jared out of his clothes, tugging and pulling while kissing Jared desperately. He has Jared naked and sprawled out on the bed in not time, staring down at him with a sloppy grin.

"Not fair," Jared complains. 

Jensen laughs and pulls off his t-shirts. 

Jared watches in rapt fascination as Jensen undresses, revealing inch after inch of naked skin. 

"God, you're gorgeous," he murmurs, and Jensen grins. He crawls onto the bed, straddling Jared and kisses the moan that escapes Jared when their cocks brush together right out of Jared's mouth. 

Jensen starts rocking their bodies together, the friction deliciously perfect. Jared arches up, feeling dizzy and too hot, his whole body on fire. They kiss and grind together, and then Jensen worms his hand between their bodies and wraps it around Jared's dick. Jared's never felt anything as amazing as Jensen's hand on him, jerking him fast, his grip just this side of too tight. He's never _done_ anything like this before, and the feel of someone else's hand on his dick is both startling and exhilarating. 

He comes embarrassingly quick, and Jared buries his face in Jensen's neck and bites down on flesh, muffling his moans. Jensen freezes, gasping out Jared's name, and shoots between them as well.

The room is spinning when Jared opens his eyes, his stomach a little queasy, but he feels boneless and happy. He prods Jensen until Jensen rolls off him, but he doesn't let go of Jared, tugging him close until they're pressed together.

Jared wakes up with his head throbbing. He flops onto his stomach, burying his face in the pillows, but it only makes his stomach roll.

"Oh god," Jared groans, and swallows down the bile rising in his throat.

He's never, ever going to drink again. 

His stomach lurches at the thought of alcohol and Jared quickly tries to untangle himself from the covers. The room is spinning, but Jared's nausea is momentarily forgotten when he realizes that for one, he is naked, and for another, he's not in his own bedroom. In fact, he's never seen this bedroom before -- and Jared has a distinct suspicion where he is. 

His brain seems to choose that moment to catch up and Jared groans at the sudden flashes of memory.

He and Jensen hooked up. _Jensen_. 

And now Jared is standing in the middle of Jensen's room, buck naked. Alone. Because Jensen's asshole behavior apparently extends to hook-ups -- or maybe, just if the hook-up in question is Jared.

"You moron," Jared mumbles, and runs a hand over his face. He slowly gathers his clothes, groaning each time he has to bend down.

Jared staggers into the kitchen thirty minutes later, showered and dressed. The painkillers he took are slowly starting to take effect and Jared is feeling marginally better, though his stomach is still queasy.

"Jay! How's the head," Misha greets him with a grin. Everyone except Jensen is sitting at the kitchen table, and Jared feels grateful that he is spared having to face Jensen just yet.

"Better than the stomach," Jared grumbles. The coffee pot is still half full, and Jared feels too shitty to care about Jensen's stupid rules. He pours himself a cup and adds a liberal amount of   
cream and sugar.

He joins the others at the table with a groan.

"We've corrupted him, haven't we?" Chris asks, but he sounds more gleeful than anything else.

"Misha's punch sure did," Jared admits. "What's in that stuff? Poison?"

"Secret recipe," Misha says gravely.

Jared glares at him and takes a careful sip of his coffee. It settles in his stomach warmly, and Jared gives an appreciative sigh.

"Say, Jared," Aldis starts after a moment, an innocent smile on his face. "You didn't happen to see Jensen with anyone last night, did you?"

"What?" Jared croaks.

"Do you know something?" Misha asks suspiciously.

"No," Jared quickly denies. "Know what? I don't know what you're even talking about."

"Let's just say Jensen definitely got lucky last night," Aldis grins.

Chris snorts. "More than lucky. He was sporting quite an impressive bite mark this morning," he says with a grin. "But he refused to tell us who left it. In fact, he shot out here like the house was on fire when I asked."

"I still think we shouldn't rule the whole Adam thing out," Aldis muses, and Chris shakes his head vehemently.

"I'm telling you -- Jensen wouldn't be that stupid. And I'm going to kill whoever brought that dick here in the first place."

"Who's Adam?" Jared asks.

There's a beat of silence, and then Misha sighs. "Jensen's ex. It didn't end well."

"Oh." Jared looks around the table, at the three grim expressions.

After last night, Jared suspected maybe Jensen was not so much homophobic as a closet case with issues, but it seems he is neither. Just your typical, arrogant dick then.

Jensen returns in the afternoon, looking tense and unhappy when he walks into the living-room where Jared and Aldis are playing xbox. He just stands awkwardly in the doorjamb for a moment, as if he expects one of them to say something, but when Aldis throws a greeting over his shoulder and keeps his attention on the game, Jensen seems to relax. Jared's car crashes into a wall moments later, and he quickly looks away from Jensen.

"Ha, third time in a row, Padalecki," Aldis grins. "Suck it."

"You're older. You've had way more practice than I do," Jared argues.

"You're just a sore loser," Aldis replies with a laugh. Jared glares, and then peers at Jensen out of the corner of his eye when he sits down in the armchair. Jensen isn't looking at Jared any friendlier than he did before last night, and whatever hope Jared had had that things might get better dies.

"Rematch?" Aldis asks, and Jared sighs inwardly and nods.

"You need a ride?" Jensen asks on Wednesday morning, and when Jared looks up he finds Jensen staring at Aldis. "I need to go meet a professor."

Jared gets the distinct impression that the offer is most definitely not extended to him as well, and he frowns. Usually, Aldis and Jared are the only ones in the house that have an early class on Wednesday and they always catch the bus together. 

Aldis seems to sense the tension, looking at Jared and then back at Jensen. "I'm fine," he says with a shrug.

Jensen huffs. "Fine, whatever. Suit yourself," he mutters and stomps back out of the kitchen.

Jared sighs.

"He's, uh, not a morning person," Aldis says, sounding apologetic.

Jared snorts. "Yeah, right. Cause he's only a dick to me in the morning," he mutters and almost regrets it immediately. Jensen might treat him like shit, but Jared's never uttered a single word of complaint -- the guys are his roommates, but they're Jensen's best friends and he knows whose side they'd choose if they had to.

"Look, Jay, don't take it personally. Jensen's just not good at opening up to new people."

Jared frowns, but shrugs. "Whatever," he says, trying to sound casual.

Aldis sighs. "No, really. I swear Jensen isn't like that. Just give him some time and he'll come around," he promises. "It's just -- remember that ex boyfriend we mentioned? And the shitty break-up? It was _really_ shitty, and Jensen's been kinda closed off since and hating the world."

"So, he's what, just a drama queen?"

Aldis laughs. "That too," he agrees. "But...look, don't ever tell Jensen I told you this, because he'll kill me, but his ex boyfriend really screwed him over. Slept with Jensen's best friend behind his back. His _female_ best friend."

"Ouch," Jared winces.

"Yeah, believe me, it was ugly. He just needs to put it behind him and learn to trust people again. Unfortunately, Jensen's way of dealing with stuff is by being an asshole," Aldis explains with a shrug. "He's really a good guy, otherwise."

"Yeah, okay," Jared says and waves him off. It might explain why Jensen is an ass, he thinks, but it still doesn't explain why he seems to direct all his hate right at Jared.

Jensen continues to ignore him and Jared follows his example.

He can't help the way his stomach occasionally swoops when Jensen walks into the room, or the pang of longing when one of the guys makes Jensen laugh, carefree and happy. He figures it's normal -- he's made out with a few guys before, but Jensen is the first guy he's ever done anything more than that with. Jared's kind of disappointed in himself, really, because it's so far from what Jared always imagined his first sexual experience to be like. His only real comfort is that at least they didn't really do anything more than get each other off, but it's enough to throw Jared a little, make him feel all twisted. He doesn't even like Jensen, but part of him yearns to at least be friends with him. He hates that whenever he's around Jensen now, he feels a little regretful.

A couple of weeks later, a guy asks Jared out on a date. He's seen him around the library a few times, caught him looking at Jared, and then one day mid October, he saunters up to the information desk and asks Jared to have dinner with him.

Jared's first thought is Jensen, and he silently berates himself the moment the thought crosses his mind, and says yes instead. There's nothing between Jensen and him, and it's time Jared got the foolish, irrational hope that things might change out of his head.

Brent takes him to a restaurant that Friday. It's at the other side of town, tiny and not particularly classy, but the food is okay and the servings are huge so Jared's happy. The conversation is a little stilted, but Jared thinks it's probably normal when you go on a date with a complete stranger. They talk about classes and music and movies, and Jared's not having a horrible time even though he thinks there's definitely no spark between him and Brent.

"You wanna go somewhere and talk some more?" Brent asks when he starts his car, looking hopefully at Jared.

"Uh, sure," Jared agrees, though he really doesn't feel like it. But he puts on a smile and tells himself to stop being an idiot and just enjoy himself. 

Jared gets a bad feeling in his stomach when Brent parks the car on an empty lot.

"Uh, where are we?" Jared asks, and Brent shrugs.

"I figured it doesn't matter. We can _talk_ anywhere, right?" he asks suggestively, and Jared realizes that when Brent said he wanted to talk, he definitely wasn't thinking what Jared was thinking.

Jared lets the first kiss happen anyway. Brent's not a bad kisser, and Jared likes kissing, so he goes with it. It's not like he didn't expect this to happen at some point tonight anyway; he is on a date with this guy after all. But then Brent's hand travels down Jared's body, settling on his crotch, and Jared pulls away quickly.

"Okay, uh, let's take this slow, okay?" he suggests.

Brent looks at him through heavy eyes and smiles. "So you like it slow, huh?" he asks, and leans back in. "I can do slow."

Jared shakes his head. "I meant slow as in; I don't do more than kissing on a first date."

Brent sits back, and lets out a surprised laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Yes?"

"Jesus," Brent says, shaking his head. He kisses Jared again anyway, and Jared relaxes a little, thinking they're on the same page now, until Brent's hand is back, more insistent this time.

"Stop," Jared hisses, breaking the kiss. "I said I don't want that."

"Don't be that way, Jared," Brent murmurs, hand palming Jared's dick a little too roughly for Jared's liking. Jared grabs Brent's wrist hard enough to probably leave a bruise and pulls it away.

"Are you slow or something?!" Jared exclaims angrily. "No means no."

"What are you, twelve?" Brent asks, getting pissed now too.

"What are you?" Jared counters. "A dick?"

He opens the door of the car and stumbles outside, getting a kick in against Brent's shin. Brent hisses, and Jared feels an odd sense of satisfaction.

He squares his shoulders, standing up to his full height and sends a glare over his shoulder as he walks off. He's not familiar with the area, and he wanders around aimlessly until he finds a bus stop, knowing he doesn't have enough money in his wallet to take a cab. Of course, the bus is not going anywhere near where Jared needs to go and he has to change buses twice. By the time he gets home, everyone else in the house seems to be asleep already and Jared stumbles into his bedroom, tired and annoyed.

Jared sleeps in until noon, and when he stumbles downstairs he finds both the kitchen and living-room deserted, but he can hear laughter from outside.

He makes himself some coffee and takes the mug out onto the back porch. 

Their backyard is small, and the other four guys have pushed the cheap plastic table and chairs aside, standing in a corner of the backyard each and throwing a football back and forth.

"Hey, Jay," Misha calls. "Finally decided to join the world of the living?"

Jared flips him off and Misha cackles. Jared notices Jensen at the other end of their backyard, standing stock still and staring at Jared, the football gripped tightly in his hands.

"Good date, huh?" Aldis, who is closest to Jared, asks. "You came back pretty late. We want details, man."

Jared frowns, remembering just how epically bad last night was and clenches his hands around the mug. "I think I'm just going to go back to bed," he mutters and turns back around, ignoring the protests of the others.

Jared's sprawled out onto top of the sheets, face buried in his pillow when someone knocks on his door minutes later.

He sighs and turns his head to face the door. "It's open," he calls out, resigned.

To his surprise, it's Jensen who pokes his head in. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yeah," Jared answers and scrambles to sit up, but Jensen waves him off.

"Just wanted to check on you," he says. He sits down on the edge of Jared's bed and smiles awkwardly.

"You?" Jared asks, and sits up anyway.

Jensen rubs the back of his neck and looks away. "Uh, yeah. The guys thought it might be a good idea."

"Why?" Jared huffs out.

Jensen shrugs. "Because I'm gay and have a really bad track record at dating?" he suggests.

Jared snorts. "Yeah, I guess none of them would get how much is sucks to date guys. They have it easy."

"It was that bad, huh?" Jensen asks, and Jared shrugs.

"It's nothing. He just...we didn't really agree on what a first date entails."

Jensen frowns, and he looks like he's actually worried. Jared pretends the thought doesn't thrill him as much as it does. 

"Do Aldis and Chris need to beat him up? I'm sure they'd do it for you."

"I can take care of myself. He just got a little grabby, is all," Jared says. "Are all guys like that? I might never sleep with anyone then."

"There are a few exceptions," Jensen assures him, then furrows his brows and his whole posture changes, stiffens.

"What?" Jared asks, and wonders how he managed to fuck things up again that quickly.

"When you say ‘you might never sleep with anyone,’ you mean never again, right?" Jensen asks, eyes glued on Jared. "You've had sex before, haven't you?"

Jared flushes. "Uh, no?"

Jensen breathes in sharply. "How far have you gone?" he asks.

"Just, you know," Jared mumbles and waves his hand between them.

"Oh Jesus, Jared," Jensen says, looking a little mortified. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Jared huffs out a laugh. "When? When I was drunk off my ass in your bed? Or the morning after when you'd just vanished?"

Jensen pinches the bridge of his nose, and then looks at Jared apologetically. "Fuck, I'm sorry."

"You didn't know."

"Still," Jensen insists. "Now I feel like I took advantage of you."

"I participated willingly, didn't I? I wouldn't have let you do anything if I hadn't wanted it too," Jared says. "And I'm not a kid, okay?"

Jensen looks at him, and smiles weakly. "No, you're not," he agrees. "For what it's worth, I'm still sorry."

"Doesn't matter," Jared replies. "Really."

"Okay," Jensen says and nods, looking relieved. He gets up from Jared's bed, standing next to it a little awkwardly before patting Jared's shoulder. "You should come out, play some football with us."

"Yeah?"

Jensen smiles at him and shrugs. "Sure," he says, and Jared smiles back, nodding.

Brent might have been a douche bag, but Jared thinks maybe he still owes the guy for unknowingly fixing whatever issues Jensen had with him.

They play football for most of the afternoon, and then Misha and Jensen hit the store and get steaks, corn on the cob, and a truckload of other groceries while Chris fires up the BBQ. They eat together on the patio and then relocate to the living-room to watch a movie.

For the first time since he moved in, Jared actually feels like he's really part of them. Jensen seems to go out of his way to include Jared in their conversations all night and Aldis keeps throwing him happy grins. It's a little awkward still, but Jared feels comfortable and relaxed. 

He feels _at home_ for the first time.

The next morning Jensen is in the kitchen when Jared gets up.

"You like pancakes?" he asks, and Jared nods.

"Sure."

"Good. I made way too many, so you can have some if you want to. I'm a pretty decent cook," Jensen offers.

Jared takes him up on the offer happily, getting a plate and piling still warm pancakes onto it. He gets maple syrup from the fridge, and by the time he sits down across from Jensen, Jensen has poured him a coffee.

"Thanks," Jared says, smiling widely. He stabs his fork into the pancakes, tearing a piece off. Jensen watches him as Jared chews the first piece, and Jared makes a content noise. "This is awesome."

"Good," Jensen says, a small smile on his face. "So, uh, remember those rules I told you about?"

"Not touching any of your stuff and shit?" Jared asks.

Jensen nods, and there are spots of color on his cheeks. "Yeah, those. Just -- forget it, okay? I mean, I'd appreciate it if you didn't eat all of my food, but can we forget about the rest? Let's just agree that I was being a huge idiot and move on, yeah?"

Jared grins. "I was thinking you were a huge dick, actually, but whatever. Water under the bridge, man."

Jensen looks relieved. "Thanks," he says, and finally goes back to eating his own food.

Jared looks at him for a moment, and feels something suspiciously close to jitters in his stomach.

It's like Jensen does a one-eighty after that weekend. They talk more and hang out together. Aldis was right when he said Jensen was a good guy -- whatever made Jensen change, Jared likes the new Jensen. He's funny and smart and actually friendly. He offers Jared rides to campus, asks Jared to join him on his morning runs -- and Jared didn't even know Jensen ran, but it sure explains his legs -- and shares his food whenever he cooks too much for himself, which happens quite regularly. Jared's pretty much a disaster in the kitchen, so it's nice to eat an actual home-cooked meal once in a while.

By the time Halloween rolls around, Jared feels completely at ease and at home in the house, and when the others suggest another party he actually finds himself looking forward to it.

"We'll just stay away from Misha's punch this time," Jensen says in a low voice, and winks at Jared.

"What's with my punch?" Misha asks, looking up from the grocery list he is preparing with Chris.

"It's lethal," Aldis chimes in. 

"Whatever. It's legendary and no party would be complete without it," Misha says, rolling his eyes.

"We should send around emails for the party," Jensen suggests, putting his feet onto the coffee table. "Let everyone know that entrance is only admitted to people in full costumes. Way too many people tried to get out of having to dress up last year."

"Yeah, like Chris," Misha says, and points his pen at Chris.

Chris sighs. "I already promised everyone I'd dress up this time. Jesus."

"What are you guys dressing up as?" Jared asks, closing the book he's been trying to read for class. He's managed to make it to the end of the page, but it took him over twenty minutes to get there, so he thinks he might as well give up.

"Ninja fighter," Aldis says gleefully. Jensen high fives him.

"I bet Chris is gonna be a cowboy," Misha muses, laughing when Chris glares at him.

"There's nothing wrong with cowboys."

"Yeah, except it's lame. Especially for a guy who walks around in plaid shirts and cowboy boots all the time anyway, like he's some Old West reject," Jensen says.

Jared looks down at his own outfit, similar to Chris's, and frowns. 

"Yeah?" Chris asks. "I bet you're not going as anything awesome either, Ackles."

Jensen grins. "I'm not telling anyone. You all have to wait and see."

"Tease. You get way too much of a kick out of dressing up," Aldis says, shaking his head in amusement. "What about you, Mish?"

"Sultan."

"Fitting," Jensen agrees with a nod. "Jared?"

Jared shrugs. "No idea. I haven't dressed up for Halloween in ages," he says. 

"Yeti," Misha suggests at the time moment Aldis says, "Big foot."

Jared glares at both of them while the others break out into laughter. "You suck," he complains.

"Sorry. Okay, seriously, let's see," Misha muses, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Pirate?" Aldis says, and Jensen frowns.

"Lame. Half of the guys will probably be either a pirate or a vampire," he says, and then gives Jared a critical once over. "You should be a cop."

Misha makes an appreciative noise. "I can picture that."

"Stop perving on him," Jensen says and throws a couch pillow at Misha's head. "You're straight."

"I can still appreciate a good-looking guy," Misha argues and winks at Jared. "Right, Jay?"

"As long as you don't molest me in my sleep," Jared says with a shrug, and then turns to Jensen. "Isn't a cop kinda lame too?"

"No way. You're tall and built, man, it'll look awesome," Jensen assures him, smiling. "And we all know if anyone has any sort of fashion sense in this house, it's me."

There's an outcry of protests and Jensen laughs, holding his arms up to shield himself when pillows, a pen, and a notebook are thrown at him.

Misha whistles when Jared walks into the room, and Jared blushes.

"Shut up," he mutters.

"You look hot," Genevieve says, walking into the room behind him and patting his shoulder. "Own it, Padalecki."

"Yeah, I'd say Jensen definitely knew what he was talking about when he suggested the costume," Danneel says, sidling up next to Aldis and giving Jared the once over. "Not that I'm surprised."

Jared grins, hoping his blush isn't too obvious. "Thanks," he says. 

He likes Aldis girlfriend. He didn't really know her that well, at first, because whenever she and Aldis didn't disappear into his room, she'd be hanging out with Jensen because she's apparently one of Jensen's best friends. Since things between him and Jensen had started to get better though, Jensen had started to invite him to hang out with him and his friends a couple of times and he and Danneel had struck up an easy camaraderie. 

"Turn around for me," Danneel says with a grin, and Jared turns in a circle obediently. Both Danneel and Misha start cheering, and Jared takes off his aviator sunglasses and bows down.

"What's going on here?" Jensen asks, coming into the kitchen. 

Jared turns to him and promptly loses all thought.

Jensen is dressed in skintight leather pants, a sheer black shirt that shows pretty much everything, and heavy boots. His hair looks a little softer, more disheveled, and his eyes are framed with dark kohl. Jared wonders if his lips look bruised and wet from biting on them or if he's actually wearing some kind of lip gloss.

"What the hell are you?" Danneel asks into the stunned silence.

"A hooker," Jensen asks with a smirk. 

"You look indecent," Danneel replies and holds up her hand for a high-five. She is dressed as a mermaid, and Jared might be gay, but even he has to admit her breasts look pretty hot in the tiny, sparkling bra she's wearing. She and Jensen will definitely be getting more than a little attention tonight.

"Well, we're not the only ones looking good," Jensen says.

"Why thank you," Misha chimes in, bowing down, and to Jared's surprise the bright purple turban doesn't fall off.

"I wasn't talking about you, idiot," Jensen replies with a grin, and then winks at Jared.

Jared feels his cheeks redden and looks down at himself. He has to admit, he doesn't look half-bad, really. The dark blue uniform fits well, showing off his shoulders, and he has handcuffs and a baton hanging from his black belt, which is pretty cool. He's always wanted to be a cop, to be honest.

"Well, let's finish decorating before people start arriving," Danneel says, clapping her hands together and then smiling widely up at Aldis.

Jared and Genevieve get assigned to putting the snacks into bowls, and once everyone left the kitchen, Genevieve leans in. She's dressed as a vampire, dark hair in curls and lips painted bright red. Jared's not sure if female vampires really need to wear tight black pants and heels and show that much cleavage, but she looks awesome. Jared makes a mental note to keep an eye on her tonight.

"Someone was checking you out," she murmurs and grins, fake sharp teeth showing.

"Who?"

"Jensen. Who else?"

Jared looks down at her and shakes his head. "He's not interested."

"Are you sure?" Genevieve asks. "I mean, you magically started getting along. Maybe that's why."

"Believe me, that's not why."

"How would you know?" she asks. "You didn't ask him out or anything, did you?"

"No," Jared says, shaking his head. "Just. Believe me, he's not interested in me like that."

He waves her off, and Genevieve looks at him suspiciously but doesn't ask any more questions. Jared feels a stab of guilt for not telling her what happened that night of the party. He thinks it was embarrassment at first, but now he just wants to keep it to himself, be the only one who knows that for one night, he'd gotten to kiss and touch Jensen. He knows their drunken hook-up was the only time he'll ever get to have that -- the morning after really left no doubt in Jared's mind that Jensen had no interest in a repeat performance...

"Officer," Jensen drawls out, leaning into Jared. He bats his eyelashes at Jared suggestively.

"Sir," Jared replies, in a deep, serious voice that makes Jensen grin. "May I ask what you are doing, dressed like that?"

"Oh, nothing," Jensen says, smiling sweetly. "Nothing at all, officer. I'm a law-abiding citizen."

"How come I don't believe you?" he teases.

Jensen grins and shrugs, turning more into Jared. His eyes go wide and he looks up at Jared with an exaggerated gasp. "Officer, is that a baton or are you just happy to see me?"

Jared lets out a surprised laugh, and Jensen drops the act, laughing himself.

"Hey," Jensen says when they've both calmed down. "You having fun?"

"Yeah. It's great," Jared says and nods.

"You should come dance with me. You've been standing around here for a while."

"I don't dance," Jared argues.

"Bullshit. I saw you dance last time."

"I was drunk."

Jensen cocks his head. "I can get you drunk if that's what it takes."

"I can't. I'm on duty," Jared replies gravely, gesturing at his outfit.

Jensen licks his lips, grinning, and leans in close. "So am I, officer," he murmurs. 

Jared flushes and lets out an awkward chuckle. "I think you could actually make money as a hooker."

"Hmm, I'll keep that in mind, in case the whole doctor thing doesn't pan out," Jensen says thoughtfully. "Now, come on. One dance."

"You're not going to give up, are you?"

Jensen shakes his head. "You might as well give in," he says, taking Jared's arm. He drags Jared out into the middle of the living-room, and smiles up at him. "Look, it's even a slow song. Anyone can dance to a slow song."

He steps in close, winding his arms around Jared's waist. Jared sighs and slides his own arms around Jensen. They sway together, and Jensen seems to melt into him halfway through the song, resting his head on Jared's shoulder, his lips brushing against Jared's neck. It makes Jared's skin tingle.

"I had some of Misha's punch," Jensen admits, and Jared laughs.

"Yeah? I thought we were done with that."

"Misha made me," Jensen says, and Jared thinks he can feel the barest press of lips against his skin. He closes his eyes, rests his cheek against Jensen's temple and tells himself he can blame it on the alcohol the next day.

Jared ends up having some of Misha's punch after all when Genevieve, Jensen, and Misha gang up on him and all but force him to have some.

He wakes up the next morning with a headache, alone in his bed and for a split second he feels a pang of regret. But he swears he can still feel the ghost of Jensen's lips on his neck.

"Hi Jensen!" Genevieve says, waving. Jared whirls around and grins when he sees Jensen.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"I have a couple of books I had to return," Jensen says, holding up the books. There's a round tin box balanced on top of it and Jared reaches out, taking everything from Jensen.

"I got these," he says, setting the box aside and placing the books behind the desk. "I could have just taken them in and returned them for you."

Jensen shrugs. "Forgot about it this morning."

Genevieve clears her throat. "I'm going to shelve some books. You can keep Jared company, Jensen, it's been a pretty slow day."

"Yeah? Boring?" Jensen asks, looking after Genevieve for a moment as she saunters off before turning his attention back to Jared.

Jared shrugs. "Kinda. I think nobody wants to venture out in that rain," he says. "You got a class or something?"

"Nah, I'm done for the day."

Jared waves Jensen behind the desk, and Jensen grins. He joins Jared on the other side, plopping down onto one of the chairs there. "I brought you something," he says, pointing at the box.

"What is that?" Jared grabs the box, prying the lid open. "Muffins! Dude, did you make these?"

Jensen shrugs. "Aldis had some eggs left that he didn't need."

Jared takes one of the muffins out, peels away the paper and bites into it. "Chocolate chip," he says happily around a mouthful of muffin.

"You like them?"

"Hell yeah," Jared replies once he's swallowed. "I knew you could cook, man, but I didn't know you could bake."

"My momma always thought it was important that her children were be able to feed themselves," Jensen says with a shrug.

"Remind me to send her a thank you card." Jared finishes the muffin and takes another one out of the box.

Jensen laughs. "Yeah, I thought you might appreciate it."

"Hmm, I do," Jared agrees. "You can come by anytime if you bring me muffins."

"Duly noted," Jensen says and the smile he gives Jared looks oddly fond.

"So now he's baking for you, huh?" Genevieve asks, smirking, after Jensen has left.

"So?" Jared asks.

Genevieve laughs and pokes Jared in the side. "You're so clueless. No wonder you're single, Jared."

Before Jared can tell Genevieve how delusional she is for even entertaining the idea of Jensen being interested in him, a girl comes up to the desk asking for help.

Jared frowns when Genevieve goes off with her to help her find a book, and calls her delusional in his head instead. Repeatedly.

Thanksgiving comes and goes and then Jared gets caught up in studying for his exams. He spends most days holed up in his room when he's not working or going to class. More than a few afternoons they all meet up in the living-room to study because Misha claims being miserable together is better than being miserable on your own. They each find a spot on the floor or the couches and lose themselves in notes and books until they're all in dire need of a break.

Chris is the last to be done with his exams, and Jensen and Misha get it stuck in their heads that they need to celebrate Christmas together the day before they all leave for home. They cook a dinner together, and Misha and Aldis invite their girlfriends and Jared asks Genevieve to come. 

They have dinner together in their kitchen, cramped together around the table.

Jared feels a little nostalgic hugging everyone goodbye the next day before Chris drives him to the airport.

Christmas passes in a blur of too much food, lounging around his parents’ house and meeting old friends from high school. It's nice and Jared loves his family, but by the end of the month he's ready to head back to Boston. His mom looks a little disappointed that he's off to college again so soon, but she pats his cheek and presses a kiss to the top of his head when Jared tells her that he's missing Boston, his friends in Boston.

"I'm glad you're happy," she says when they say goodbye at the airport, tears in her eyes.

"I am," Jared assures her and hugs her extra tightly. He feels a little sad waving goodbye to everyone, but his family is barely out of sight when his cell phone beeps.

' _When does your plane land & what gate? I'll come get you. J_' 

Jared smiles as he reads the text and accidentally runs into a group of girls. He apologizes, blushing when the girls giggle and wave him off, but he can't keep the grin off his face.

New Year's is a pretty small affair compared to their previous parties. Danneel comes with a friend who spends most of the night flirting with Chris, and Genevieve and Vicky are there as well as a few close friends of Jensen and Chris's. They mostly just lounge around in the living-room. Chris gets out his guitar and plays some songs, Jensen singing along for a few. There's beer and nachos and they count down together.

"I'm drunk," Genevieve slurs when Jared half carries, half pushes her up to his bedroom not long after midnight.

"I noticed," Jared laughs. "You shouldn't have tried to match Chris drink for drink."

"He challenged me!" Genevieve cries out and sighs when they reach Jared's bed, tipping forward.

"You didn't have to accept the challenge," Jared replies. He helps her take off her shoes and then pulls the sheets over her. "You okay up here alone or do you want me to stay?"

"'m good. Just need to sleep," she assures him, patting his arm. "Hey, Jay?"

"Yeah?"

"He was watching you all night."

"Chris?" Jared asks stupidly, and Genevieve huffs.

"Jensen," she says. "One of you guys really needs to get his head out of his ass or you'll never get together."

"We're friends," Jared murmurs, stroking back Genevieve's hair. "Go to sleep."

"He wants more than friendship," she replies, and then yawns. "'n so do you."

Jared watches her eyes droop close and then leaves quietly. He goes back downstairs and when he walks into the living-room, he catches Jensen looking at him. He smiles, and Jensen returns it, waving him over.

Maybe, Jared thinks, feeling hopeful. Maybe Genevieve isn't as far off as he always thought.


	2. Chapter 2

January in Boston is something Jared doesn't think he's ever going to get used to. It's crazily cold, even when Jared wears layers upon layers of clothes, but at the same time it's so different from what Jared's used to in Texas that he feels like an excited kid, taking it all in with a feeling of awe.

A week before classes start again, a snowstorm hits them.

Jared's sitting in the kitchen with a mug of hot chocolate. He's pretending to read, but really watching the snowflakes twirl around outside the window, when Jensen comes home cussing and cursing.

"You okay?" Jared calls out, listening to Jensen stomping around heavily in the hallway.

"Frozen solid," Jensen replies, coming into the room. "Fucking snow."

Jared just stares for a moment. There are frozen clumps of snow in Jensen's hair, and his cheeks are flushed bright red, eyes shiny. The sight tugs at Jared’s heart, makes him want to hug Jensen close and warm him up.

He flushes at the thought, and looks away with a cough. "You, uh, want some hot chocolate?" he asks.

"Sure," Jensen says with a grin.

Jared gets up hastily and makes a second mug of hot chocolate.

"Thanks, Jay," Jensen says when Jared hands him the mug, and gives him a wide, happy smile that makes Jared's insides melt.

"No problem," he murmurs, and ducks his head a little. He sits back down, immersing himself in the thick text book again, but he swears he can feel Jensen's eyes on him the entire time.

They all hole up in the living-room that night, none of them wanting to leave the house in that weather, and watch a movie together. Misha and Chris are sharing one couch, and Jared is on the other with Jensen and Aldis. Jared doesn't mind one bit that there's so little room that he ends up pressed close to Jensen. 

As the movie progresses, Jared leans further and further into Jensen's warm body, and Jensen doesn't once try to shift away. He's warm and smells nice, and Jared barely pays any attention to the movie at all. 

A couple of hours later, he wakes up with his head pillowed on Jensen's shoulder and fingers carding through his hair.

"Time for bed, Jay," Jensen murmurs.

Jared blinks tiredly, and then struggles to sit up. "Sorry," he says, looking around tiredly. The others are getting up, empty beer cans and trash in their hands. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

"I don't mind," Jensen replies, smiling at him. "Come on, up you get and into bed."

"Yeah, okay," Jared agrees around a yawn. He gets up, stretching his arms over his head, his back popping. When he reaches for the almost empty bowl of popcorn, Jensen nudges him.

"Bed," he reminds Jared.

"I should at least help clean up."

"The guys got it. Come one," Jensen says. He steers Jared out of the room, hand on his elbow, and follows him up the stairs. Jared actually feels dead on his feet, and his steps are a little sluggish. The warm feel of Jensen's hand is steady and welcome.

"Thanks," he murmurs when they reach his door.

Jensen gives him an amused look. "No problem. Night, Jay," he says, and for a split second Jared thinks Jensen is going to make a move. Lean in and kiss him, or at least hug him. 

But then Jensen takes a step back, and the moment is gone.

"You should ask him out," Danneel says, crossing her legs and sipping her coffee. She's wearing one of Aldis's shirts, ending mid-thigh and thick woolen socks. Jared does his best not to look at her. Gay or not, he's pretty sure you're not supposed to stare at your buddy's half naked girlfriend.

"Ask who out?" he asks. He tears off a piece of his toast halfheartedly, looking down at the burned crust and too pale middle. The start of a new semester has never felt this awful, but Jared feels like he's sleep-deprived and ready for another break after just one week. Jensen has tried to make him get up early with him and go running every morning, but so far Jared has opted to stay in bed and sleep a little longer every single time Jensen has come to wake him up. Jared's never been more glad about a week being over so he can sleep in tomorrow morning.

"Jensen." Danneel sounds a little exasperated and when Jared meets her eyes, she huffs out a sigh. "I'm getting frustrated just watching you two."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jared says, but he feels himself flush.

"Oh, please. You're head over heels for the guy. And Jensen's had a crush on you since the day he met you."

"Bullshit," Jared replies. "He hated me."

"Oh, Jay." Danneel laughs and reaches over to pat his hand. "You're cute. He was trying not to develop feelings for you, that's why he was acting like a prick. He wanted to keep his distance from you. After Adam Jensen was having a pretty tough time for a while. He kinda decided to stay single, and then you strolled in looking the way you look and completely threw him."

"I didn't do anything," Jared argues weakly.

Danneel grins. "You didn't need to. Point is, Jensen gave up on his ridiculous plan not to like you. For some reason though, he's determined not to tell you how he feels. Says he doesn't want to pressure you, or whatever," she says. "So, I'm telling you because I know you have an epic crush on him and one of you has got to do something before I kill you both."

"I'm not..." Jared starts, but he stops when Danneel glares at him. "I can't just ask him out."

"Why not? "

"What if he says no?"

"Hi. Were you there for the first part of this conversation? Where I told you that Jensen likes you?"

"Still."

"Jared," Danneel says slowly. "Believe me. I promise you Jensen wants to be with you. You just gotta make a move. Sometime this century, preferably."

Jared bites his lower lip and shrugs, dropping his unfinished slice of toast. "I'll think about it."

"Not good enough."

"Danneel," Jared says. "Look, I gotta go to class."

"Coward," Danneel says with a sigh, and steals the toast from his plate. "But don't worry. Once Jensen drags his lazy ass down here, I'll tell him he should drop by the library later today because you want to talk to him."

"How d'you know I'll be at the library later today?" Jared asks suspiciously.

Danneel grins. "I ran into Genevieve. We've come up with at least five different ways to get you and Jensen to hook up, so don't worry, it'll happen," she says with a grin.

"Danneel. Don't you dare," Jared says, shaking his head vehemently.

"Dare what?" Aldis asks, strolling into the kitchen. He drops a kiss to the top of Danneel's head and then looks back and forth between them. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Jared quickly says. "I gotta go now."

"I was being serious, Jared," Danneel calls after him as Jared flees from the kitchen.

"Danneel told me to come here," Jensen says, resting his arms on the counter, hands clasped.

Jared swallows, hard. "Did she?" he asks.

"Yeah. She wouldn't really tell me why, but she said you wanted me to come by?" Jensen asks. He's keeping his voice quiet even though the few tables that are in earshot are mostly empty and nobody seems to care about it.

Jared inwardly groans. "Well, she was lying," he replies, giving Jensen a weak smile.

Jensen looks puzzled, eyebrows drawn together. "Okay," he says slowly. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No. Of course not," Jared rushes out. "You can stay. I'm just saying I never told Danneel you should come by. Cause there's obviously no reason for why I would ask her to do that. Really."

"You're acting kinda weird, you know that, right?" Jensen asks, but he's smiling.

Jared shrugs. "Sorry. Just...not sure what Danneel was trying," he lies.

Jensen huffs a sigh. "Well, okay. But since I'm here now, mind if I hang out for a bit? Maybe I can actually get some reading done. I keep getting distracted every time I try studying at home."

"Sure. That's what a library is for, right?" Jared says. "You, uh, wanna find an empty spot somewhere or stay here?"

Jensen smiles at the offer, tugging at the strap of his backpack. "I need to get a few books to look some things up, but if you don't mind, I'll join you? You don't mind if I sit around with you and read?"

Jared shakes his head and holds up his own book that he was reading before Jensen came in. "Not at all," he replies.

Jensen nods and then swings his backpack behind the counter to where Jared is before walking off with a wave.

He returns a good twenty minutes later with a stack of books and plops down on the empty chair next to Jared with a groan. 

"Why did I choose to become a doctor again?" he asks.

Jared smiles at him, looking up from the notes he's taking. "Because you'll make a lot of money and guys will be impressed," he says. "Oh, and to save lives, I suppose."

Jensen chuckles. "Which isn't nearly as important as wealth and men, though."

"Not at all," Jared agrees.

He watches Jensen for a moment longer as Jensen gets a notebook and pen from his backpack and opens the first book.

They work side by side quietly, Jared taking breaks every now and then when books are being returned or checked out, but it's a quiet day mostly.

"You're being watched," Jensen says after an hour or so, and Jared looks up from the sheet of problems he's working on.

"What?"

Jensen gives him a look, his face set in a scowl. "That guy at the table over there, he keeps looking over."

"So?"

"He's totally checking you out. He's been trying to catch your eye every time you look up."

Jared snorts. "And you know that because you've been keeping a close eye on him, huh?"

"He's being pretty damn obvious," Jensen huffs. "It's kinda pathetic. The library is huge, man; if he's come here to study he wouldn't have chosen a table right by the desk where everyone who comes and goes walks past."

"Your point?"

"He's come here to ogle the help. Which is really kind of rude," Jensen says. "I mean, who does that? Do you always get hit on in the library?"

Jared laughs softly. "You're being ridiculous."

Jensen scoffs, sending a dirty glare at the guy sitting at the table. The guy actually catches Jensen's eyes and quickly ducks his head down.

"Jensen," Jared scolds. "Leave the poor guy alone."

"Why?"

"Cause he's probably completely innocent. Some people just stare off into space while studying or something -- believe me, I've seen it countless times. You're gonna scare him if you keep glaring at him for something he's not even doing."

"You're naïve," Jensen replies.

"You're a borderline sociopath," Jared counters and swats Jensen's arm.

When the guy gets up some twenty minutes later, a couple of books in his hand and nearing the counter, Jensen stands up. He rests his hand on Jared's back and leans in.

"So, I was thinking we should do something tonight. Just you and me," he says, voice louder than necessary considering Jared is right there next to him. "Maybe dinner and a movie?"

Jared gives Jensen a funny look, but nods. He checks the books out for the guy and waits until he's gone before facing Jensen.

"You're crazy," he says. "And you better plan on really taking me out tonight just for that, asshole."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jensen counters with an innocent look on his face. "I was simply asking you if you wanted to do something with me tonight."

Jared rolls his eyes. "Right," he mutters. "I expect dinner and a movie, Ackles, and you're paying."

By the time Jared is in his room, getting ready to leave with Jensen, his bravado starts to slip. Jensen was clearly jealous when he thought some other guy was flirting with Jared, but he's not sure if that means tonight is a date or if they're just hanging out.

He wouldn't be surprised if Jensen was going to act as if nothing happened and go on as before. Still, just the possibility that they're actually going on a date makes Jared put a little more effort into the way he looks. He styles his hair and puts on a soft, black sweater that his mom gave him for Christmas over a button-down shirt, along with a good pair of jeans.

Jensen eyes him up and down when Jared comes down the stairs and Jared's sure that look alone is worth it.

"Ready?" Jensen asks.

"Ready," Jared affirms, smiling a little.

"Damn, you look hot," Misha says, coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of fruit loops in his hand. He gives Jared an appraising look and then whistles.

Jensen reaches out to hit him over the head. "Stop hitting on him," he grumbles.

Misha chuckles, eying Jared again and Jared's pretty sure he can feel his cheeks growing hot. "If Jensen bores you tonight, come by my room later," he says with a wink.

"Misha!" Jensen exclaims, but Jared just laughs. "You have a damn girlfriend. Behave."

"I'm sure she'd love to watch," Misha replies easily. He ducks Jensen's hand shooting out to hit him again. 

"You're an ass," Jensen calls out after Misha, who walks up with the stairs with a wave of his free hand.

Jared just shakes his head, more amused than anything, and grabs his coat. They bundle up in scarves, gloves, and hats.

Jensen drives them to a restaurant Jared's never heard of, but he barely left the campus his first year and he's only really begun exploring Boston since he moved into the house.

"This is okay, right?" Jensen asks once they've been seated and handed the menus. 

"It's great," Jared replies, nodding.

Jensen smiles at him over the table. "Good. I promise the food is good. They probably won't serve you alcohol though without an ID."

"That's fine," Jared says with a shrug. "So, any recommendations? What's good here?"

"The ribs are good, and the burgers," Jensen suggests.

"Mmm, ribs," Jared says with a nod. 

"I'll take a burger then. We can split if you want to."

Jared looks over the table at Jensen, putting the menu down. "Sounds great," he says with a smile that Jensen returns.

They're still looking at each other, both smiling, when their waitress stops at their table and they don't notice her until she clears her throat.

Jensen apologizes, looking a little embarrassed, and the waitress waves him off. 

"Believe me, this happens plenty of times," she says. "You guys are cute."

Jensen catches Jared's eyes for a second, and then turns to smile at their waitress.

"Thanks," he says, and Jared beams. This is most definitely a real date.

During the movie, Jensen covers Jared's hand with his. He runs his thumb back and forth over Jared's knuckles, the touch soft, and Jared's so distracted he misses most of the plot. He's okay with that.

They go home after the movie, smelling of buttery popcorn and Jared's fingers sticky from the sour sticks he's been eating. He feels giddy and happy, but his mood drops a little when they get back to the house and the others are all there, hanging out in the living-room.

"How was dinner?" Misha calls before the front door has even fallen shut behind Jared.

Jensen groans. "I don't think we can ignore them," he mutters.

Jared snorts. "I know. Have you ever tried ignoring Misha?"

"Yeah, good point," Jensen replies. "Come on, then."

They join the guys for a few rounds of Madden and endure their teasing before Jared excuses himself.

"I'm pretty tired," he says apologetically.

"I'll demand a rematch tomorrow then," Aldis warns him, and Jared nods.

He meets Jensen's eyes and gives him a small smile before heading up the stairs. He changes into pajama bottoms and a t-shirt before going into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When he comes out again, Jensen is leaning against the wall next to Jared's room.

"Hey," Jared says, a little startled. He tugs at the hem of his t-shirt, trying to pull it down a little further.

Jensen gives him a small smile. "Just wanted to come say goodnight," he says with a shrug. "Sorry. This isn't really how I thought tonight would end."

"How did you think tonight would end?" Jared asks, both curious and suspicious.

Jensen holds up his hand "Not the way you're thinking right now. I just would have liked to come home and not find the others waiting up for us."

"It's their house too," Jared says. "You can't blame them for hanging out downstairs."

Jensen grimaces. "Yeah, but they were _actually_ waiting up for us."

"Oh," Jared says, feeling a little embarrassed. 

Jensen gives him an apologetic look. "Yeah. Sorry about that," he says. "Anyway, I'm not trying to keep you up. I just wanted to let you know that I had fun tonight. And I wouldn't mind a repeat."

"Me neither," Jared admits, scratching the back of his neck.

"Good," Jensen murmurs. He pushes away from the wall, and reaches out, touching Jared's cheek gently. "Night, Jared."

"Night," Jared echoes. 

Jensen leans close and presses a chaste kiss to Jared's lips.

Jared holds back until he's in his room, door closed behind him, before he lets the big grin spread over his face.

"Another party?" Jared asks when he comes into the kitchen late the next morning. There are a few grocery bags on the table and two six packs stacked on top of each other.

"You bet your ass," Chris says. "We got a reputation to live up to and the semester already started a week ago. Can't have that."

"Definitely not," Jared agrees gravely. "Need help with anything?"

"You can help Misha clean up the living-room and hide anything that's breakable."

"Sure," Jared says, getting a mug from the cupboard. He's pleasantly surprised to find there's still coffee from one of the guys left and it's still hot too. He pours himself a mug and then wanders out into the living-room. 

He's not really surprised to find Misha sprawled out on the couch, watching some documentary on TV instead of doing anything.

"Chris wants us to clean the room and hide all the breakable stuff," he says, but he sits down next to Misha.

"Yeah," Misha replies lazily. He nudges a plate with cinnamon buns on the coffee table. "Want one?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Jared leans forward, snagging one of the buns. It's sticky and sweet, and he makes a happy noise as he bites into it. He lifts his feet, resting them on the coffee table next to Misha's, and soon gets dragged in by the documentary about Eurasian wolves.

Jensen strolls into the living-room almost an hour later. The documentary about wolves is over and it's brown bears now, and Jared watches in fascination as two cubs play flight, their mother watching them with what Jared swears is a bored expression. 

"Hey, does Chris know that you two are just lazing around?" Jensen asks.

Misha snorts. "It's not even two yet. What the hell do we need to get ready for a party that's _tonight_ right now? Beer is in the fridge, we bought some snacks -- we're good to go."

Jensen flops down on the couch next to Jared, their thighs pressed together. "Chris seems to think this needs to be the most awesome party ever. That apparently requires cleaning beforehand," he says, and Jared watches him and Misha share a meaningful look.

"What?" he asks.

"Have we ever cleaned the house before throwing a party, Jared?" Misha asks.

Jared frowns. "No?"

"This is what Chris gets like when some girl he wants to impress is coming to one of our parties."

"Chris? Really?" Jared asks, making a face. "He strikes me more as the kind of guy who thinks chugging a bottle of vodka and flexing your muscles works on girls."

"You'd think," Jensen agrees. "But when he actually likes a girl he tries to be all sweet and stuff."

"Huh," Jared says, eyebrows raised, and both Jensen and Misha chuckle.

"Yeah, it's a little disturbing," Jensen says, patting Jared's thigh.

"So. Do we know who the girl is yet?" Jared asks, joining Jensen and Aldis. They've been standing in one corner of the room for a while now, talking among themselves, while Jared had at least tried to mingle a little.

Jensen shakes his head, looking a little puzzled. "No clue. But there's no way there's no girl. I know Chris, and this is exactly how he does every time he likes someone."

"Maybe she just didn't show up," Aldis says with a shrug.

"Maybe," Jensen agrees, sounding a little disappointed. 

"She might still come. It's early," Jared says. He takes a sip of his drink, grimacing at the amount of alcohol in it.

"Doubt it," Aldis says. "Chris has been playing beer pong with Genevieve, Misha, and Vicky. He wouldn't be getting drunk if a girl he likes is showing up later."

Jensen sighs. "Man, I was really getting my hopes up."

"Why are you so interested in Chris hooking up with some girl?" Jared asks, nudging Jensen.

"Because he hasn't had a serious girlfriend in almost two years," Jensen replies. "That's two years worth of embarrassing stories that have piled up."

"Ah, I see," Jared says with a laugh. "Does he have stories about you too?"

"There are no stories about me," Jensen says firmly.

Aldis laughs, and Jared hides his smirk behind his plastic cup.

"Funny. I'm sure I could come up with a few," Aldis says.

"And this is our cue to leave," Jensen says, taking Jared by the arm and dragging him away. Jared follows him into the kitchen with a laugh.

"You know I'm going to find out sooner or later anyway, right?" he asks.

Jensen gives him a look. "Then I'll be forced to have a chat with the lovely Ms. Genevieve about all the stupid stuff you've done," he says.

"The only stupid things I've ever done are thanks to Chad," Jared replies. "I can't be blamed for those."

"The former roommate?" Jensen asks, and when Jared nods, he grins. "Gotta thank him for ditching you and making you move in here."

"So you're glad about me living here now?" Jared teases. He empties his drink and accepts the new plastic cup Jensen hands him.

"Have I apologized for being a dick to you the first few months you lived here?"

"Yeah," Jared replies, grinning.

"Well, I'm still sorry," Jensen says, looking contrite. "I was in a pretty bad place when you moved in and I took it out on everyone else. On you mostly, really. I had a completely wrong impression of you."

"Based on what?" Jared jokes. "You couldn't stand me the second you saw me."

"Based on your looks," Jensen admits. "Cause I was attracted to you the moment I saw you and I hated it."

Jared leans against the cabinets, taking a sip of his drink. "I was too. Attracted to you, I mean."

Jensen cocks his head to the side, smiling. "I'm glad," he says, moving a little closer. 

He loosely curls his hand around Jared's wrist for a moment before letting his hand slide down, intertwining their fingers.

They pull apart again when someone clears their throat and Jared takes a nervous step back.

"Sorry, just getting more beer," a guy Jared has never seen says. He nods at them. "Hey, Jensen."

"Hey," Jensen replies, giving the guy a small, awkward smile. They're quiet while the guy grabs a few beers from the fridge and watch him leave again.

"We should probably head back into the living-room before someone comes looking for us," Jensen says with a shrug, sounding a little disappointed.

Jared rolls his lower lip into his mouth, catching it between his teeth and nods.

Whoever the guy was, Jared hates him because he's pretty sure Jensen would have kissed him if he hadn't walked in.

Jared spends Sunday hung-over, lounging in the living-room with the guys before he eventually drags himself upstairs to get some homework done for his classes.

Aldis sticks his head in later that afternoon and tells him they're ordering pizza. "You want anything?"

"Pepperoni and cheese," Jared says. 

"Okay, we'll call you when the pizza's here," Aldis replies with a nod, and he's gone again.

By the time their food is delivered, Jared is done with most of his homework. He joins the guys downstairs and they eat their pizza in the living-room while watching a movie.

It's the absolutely perfect way to spend a weekend, Jared thinks as he leans into the warm press of Jensen's body next to his while a car blows up on TV.

Life's apparently a bitch, because after an absolutely great weekend Monday is the complete opposite.

Jared oversleeps and runs to the bus stop, but still misses the bus. He's late for his first lecture and his professor gives him an annoyed look when Jared tries to sneak in. In his rush to leave, he had just pushed things into his backpack and as he sits down and looks for pen and paper, he realizes he's forgotten his notebook. He gets shushed by a few people when he asks around for a sheet of paper in a whisper.

The rest of his day doesn't get much better. 

The book he really needs for a paper he has to hand in by the end of the week is already loaned out to another student. The sandwich he has for lunch is not only pretty bad but also does nothing to quell Jared's hunger. And work that day is absolutely horrible and Jared spends a few hours just running from shelf to shelf, helping people out and tidying up after them.

By the time he makes his way back home it's late. 

His day is starting to look up a little when he finds out Jensen and Misha made pasta for dinner for all of them, and Chris takes one look at him before handing him a cool beer and tells him to sit down.

They're almost done with dinner when lightning brightens the dark sky outside, quickly followed by a clap of thunder.

Jared stares out of the window with a frown. He's so ready for the day to be over.

"Who's up for watching some TV?" Aldis suggests. "Best thing to do during storms is to curl up on the couch and do nothing."

"I'll make some hot chocolate," Misha says with a smile.

"I'll do the dishes first," Jared says, getting up with a sigh. "You guys cooked so I'm cleaning up."

"Dishes can wait," Jensen says. The other guys make noises of agreement, and Jared doesn't need to be told twice. Not after a day like that.

Misha gets milk from the fridge while the rest of them move to the living-room and start a discussion on what to watch.

"Something funny," Jared says. "I just want something that makes me laugh and doesn't require any thinking."

"We're not watching _Big Bang Theory_ ," Chris mutters. "Seriously, I hate living in a house full of geeks sometimes."

" _How I Met Your Mother_ marathon?" Jensen suggests. 

Chris shrugs. "I could go for that."

Aldis and Jared nod.

"Misha! _How I Met Your Mother_?" Jensen yells.

"Hell yeah," Misha calls back and Jensen grins.

"Of course he's not gonna say no to that. He has a crush on Alyson Hannigan," he says.

"Really?" Jared asks.

Jensen grins. "He watched _Buffy_ because of her. Even though he still denies it."

"I can attest to that," Aldis says. "I've walked in on him watching that show a couple of times."

Misha comes in, balancing five mugs in his hands. "I know you guys are talking about me," he says and then looks at Jared. "It's not true."

"What's not true?" Jensen asks innocently.

"I know you're telling everyone in the world I have a crush on Alyson Hannigan. It's not true."

"You watched _Buffy_ ," Aldis points out.

"It's a perfectly fine show."

"Yeah, my baby sister was really into it too," Jared says, voice teasing.

Misha huffs. "I don't know why I'm friends with you guys."

Jensen chuckles and pats the cushions next to him. "Come sit down, Mish. We'll turn down the lights so nobody will see you drool during Lily's scenes," he says, scooting a little closer to Jared to make room.

They make it through seven episodes before they call it a night. Jared and Aldis have both almost nodded off by then even though it's not that late yet, but Jared happily agrees when Chris suggest going to bed for the night. Jared's ready to just fall into his bed and sleep for the next nine hours.

He freezes when he reaches for his pajama pants and finds them sopping wet. "What the hell," he groans. His eyes flicker to the open window his bed is standing under.

"No," he mutters. He pulls the wet comforter down, hoping the rain hasn't soaked it through yet but it's no use. His bed is completely wet, bedding and mattress alike, and Jared makes a noise suspiciously close to a whimper.

He changes into a dry pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and then leaves the room with a sigh after making sure the window is closed.

He knocks on Jensen's door, waiting for his reply before slipping into the room.

"Hey. Everything okay?" Jensen asks. He's already in bed, a book open in his lap and glasses sitting on his nose.

"Uh. I accidentally left my window open this morning," Jared says. "My bed's soaking wet."

Jensen chuckles. "Oh man. You're really having one of those days, huh?"

"Yeah," Jared says. "I was wondering if I could maybe sleep here tonight? I'm too tall for either of the couches, I think."

"I don't know. Don't you think it's too early for us to share a bed?" Jensen asks, voice teasing.

Jared glares at Jensen. "I could ask Misha, I guess. I bet he would be more than happy to share his bed with me," he says. "He sleeps in the nude, doesn't he?"

Jensen laughs and lifts his comforter. "Come here, you idiot," he says. "As if I would shoot down the opportunity to have you in my bed."

"Thank you," Jared replies gratefully, slipping under the comforter as Jensen shifts aside to make more room. 

Jensen shuts his book and takes off his glasses.

"You can keep reading," Jared says. "I don't mind."

"Nah, it's okay," Jensen slides down before reaching over Jared to switch of the light. Jared blinks as they're bathed in darkness. He feels a little tense, not sure what to do now that he's lying next to Jensen.

He startles a little when he feels Jensen's hand on his arm, but relaxes as Jensen slides his hand up, resting it on Jared's neck.

"Good night, Jared," Jensen murmurs, and before Jared can answer, Jensen leans in and kisses him. Their lips move together for a few short moments, sweet and slow.

Jared hears Jensen sigh softly when they part and his breath fans over Jared's face.

"Night," he whispers, shifting a little closer, and he can't help the small smile that's still on his lips as his eyes slide close.

Jared wakes up tangled with Jensen, his arm thrown over Jensen's waist and one leg tucked between Jensen's. He sighs, content and Jensen moves his hand up Jared's arm, turning onto his side and shifting closer.

"Morning," he mumbles.

"Morning," Jared replies, smiling.

He's pretty sure that, no matter what goes wrong today, it's going to be an awesome day.

"Are you sure they're going to let me in?" Jared asks, nervously looking at the few people entering the bar a few buildings down.

"I've been coming here since my freshman year," Jensen replies. "Don't worry. You're almost 20 -- it's not like we're trying to sneak in a teenager. And you're unnaturally tall, so you should be fine."

Jared bites down on his lower lip. "Okay."

"Come on," Aldis says, clapping Jared on the back. His other arm is wrapped securely around Danneel. "You don't wanna miss out on Chris's first gig ever?"

"Course not," Jared says with a smile.

"We'll be able to say we knew him before he was famous," Jensen says with a chuckle.

"Maybe when he's famous he can introduce Misha to Alyson," Aldis adds, and Jared laughs when Misha scoffs and hits Aldis.

"Careful," Danneel says, ducking down so Misha doesn't hit her.

They reach the bar to the entrance, and the bouncer doesn't do much more than glance at their IDs.

"See?" Jensen murmurs when they're inside, a hand on Jared's back.

Chris is already inside, saving a booth for them, and Aldis volunteers to get the first round of drinks. Chris has one beer with them and then has to go set up. When Jensen asks if he needs help, he waves him off.

"You stay here with your boy," he says.

"Shut up," Jensen mutters but he looks at Jared and smiles.

Genevieve shows up a few songs into Chris's set, and they all scoot a little closer together to make room for her.

"I didn't know you were coming," Jared says, watching Genevieve take a swallow from his beer.

"Chris invited me. Well, he sent out an email to everyone he knows, anyway," she says with a shrug. "You've been too busy with other things lately to tell me about this, I suppose."

She pointedly looks at Jensen and Jared feels himself flush a little.

"Right. I believe congratulations are in order?" Danneel chimes in, grinning.

"Danneel," Jensen groans. 

"What?" Danneel asks innocently, batting her eyes at Jensen. "A little birdie told me you two finally got your act together."

"We're...," Jared starts. He blushes a little, shrugging before he meets Jensen's eyes. 

"Aldis -- oh, excuse me, _the little birdie_ really needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," Jensen grumbles.

Aldis laughs. "What? He's been sleeping in your bed for the past few days."

"I left my window open during the storm. My mattress is completely ruined," Jared argues.

"So, you're saying you're not together?" Danneel asks suspiciously. "Cause I also know you went on a date recently and I saw you at the party. You were definitely flirting."

"Actually, we're saying no such things," Jensen replies sweetly. He rests his hand on Jared's knee under the table, giving it a small squeeze. "I just think your boyfriend is a tattle tale."

"And I think you shouldn't keep information such as you having a new boyfriend from one of your best friends," Danneel replies. She raises her beer bottle though, smiling. "But I'm still happy for guys. Took you long enough."

"It did," Misha agrees and grins. "But now I'll finally have the opportunity to walk in on you having sex."

A second later he winces when both Jared and Jensen kick him under the table.

Jared glances at his watch with a small sigh, before turning his attention back to his professor who's going on and on about a graph Jared lost interest in a good ten minutes ago. He usually likes this class, but today he's just ready for it to be over. It really doesn't help that he knows Jensen is waiting for him outside.

Jared taps his pen against his notebook impatiently until the girl sitting next to him elbows him in the side.

"Some of us need to pay attention to get this," she hisses, and Jared rolls his eyes.

He jumps up the second the professor ends the class and he's one of the first students out of the door.

Jensen is leaning against the wall a few feet down the hallway, eyes on the door. He smiles when his eyes fall on Jared and Jared gives him a small wave.

"Hope you haven't been waiting for long," Jared says, leaning down for a quick kiss as soon as he's close enough.

"Few minutes," Jensen replies. "Put on your coat. It's cold outside."

"Yes, sir," Jared says, saluting before dropping his backpack onto the floor. Jensen watches him with a small smile, taking the ski cap from Jared's hand and pulling it over Jared's hair while Jared buttons his coat. Jared quickly ties his scarf around his neck and pulls on his gloves before spreading his arms.

"Happy?" he asks.

"Ecstatic," Jensen says sarcastically. 

Jared grins and picks up his backpack before following Jensen out of the building. After the storm and rainy weather in the last few days, the temperature has dropped again and the streets are covered in a thin film of ice.

Jared has barely taken five steps before he nearly slips. He grabs Jensen's arm, steadying himself and Jensen holds on to him with a laugh.

"Try not to kill yourself," Jensen says and then skits a little with his next step too, making Jared cackle.

Around them other students aren't faring much better. Everyone is slipping and sliding on the icy ground, cursing and laughing alike. Jared grips Jensen's hand in his, holding on tightly, as they slowly walk side by side, laughing each time one of them slips.

"Jesus. They shouldn't make us leave the house on days like this," he says when he nearly face plants, the only thing holding him up are Jensen's arms shooting out.

"Mmm, we could have stayed in bed all day then," Jensen replies with a grin. 

"Would have been better than this," Jared agrees.

"My car is just over there," Jensen says, pointing and Jared sighs when he can just barely make the car out in the distance.

"We'll never get there unharmed," he says, but there's a smile on his face anyway. 

Jensen chuckles. "I'll patch up any scrapes and bruises you'll suffer," he offers with a flirty smile.

"You're totally hoping I'll land flat on my ass so you have an excuse to get me naked, aren't you?" Jared asks.

"I wisely choose not to comment on that," Jensen says. There's smirk on his face and Jared huffs in fake indignation, which only makes Jensen laugh again. He leans in, gloved hands cupping Jared's cheeks, and plants a wet kiss onto Jared's lips.

"That's not good enough," Jared decides, shaking his head.

"Hmm, no?" Jensen shuffles closer, looking up at Jared through his lashes. His cheeks and nose are red from the cold, and his eyes are sparkling happily and Jared wonders how _he_ of all people got lucky enough to catch Jensen's interest. He leans down and kisses Jensen again, keeping it chaste.

When they pull apart, Jared's stomach grumbles loudly and Jensen looks up at him with amusement.

"Okay, I think someone really needs some food, asap," he says, stepping back and taking Jared's hand in his.

They finally reach the parking lot a few moments, and several just barely avoided accidents, later and Jensen tugs at his hand. "Let's go this way."

"Uh, your car is over there. Just crossing over the parking lot would be way quicker," Jared says, squinting.

"Yeah. Well. See that guy over there? That's my ex," Jensen mutters, nodding at a group of students standing not too far away. "I really don't feel like running into him."

"Oh," Jared says, taking a closer look. There are three guys and two girls, and Jared wonders which one Jensen is talking about. He feels a stab of jealousy imagining Jensen with some other guy.

"Come on," Jensen says, voice a little pleading.

"Is he the guy who --" Jared trails off, not sure how to phrase it. Jensen doesn't really talk much about his ex-boyfriend and Jared doesn't want to say anything that pisses Jensen off.

"Who cheated on me?" Jensen offers with a forced smile. "Yeah. That's him."

"Sorry," Jared says, giving Jensen's hand a squeeze even though he doubts Jensen even feels it through the two layers of their gloves.

"'s okay. We just didn't end on a good note so I try to avoid him," Jensen says with a shrug, but then he tips his head up and smiles at Jared. "It worked out for the better though."

"Yeah?" Jared asks, hopeful.

"Definitely," Jensen assures. He leans up and gives Jared a kiss, both of them smiling into it and Jensen looks happy when they break apart.

Jared glances over his shoulder once more as they continue walking, and he sees one of the guys watching them. He can just barely bite back the satisfied grin and the urge to shout that Jensen is his now across the parking lot.

Jensen is sitting on the counter right next to the sink, eyes still half closed, brushing his teeth on autopilot. Jared tries not to watch, not to get distracted by the sight when he has a razor in his hand.

He focuses his attention back on his reflection, sliding the razor through the shaving cream and revealing a stripe of smooth skin.

Jensen bends sideways a few moments later and then halts. Jared swears he can almost see the wheels in Jensen's head turn as he realizes Jared has the sink filled with water. He makes an unhappy noise.

"Give me second," Jared says, shaking the razor out in the water before bringing it back to his skin. "Or go spit the foam into the toilet."

"Ugh," Jensen says, the sound muffled by the foamy toothpaste in his mouth, and there's a look of disgust on his face that makes Jared laugh.

"What's the difference?" Jared asks.

"'s a toilet," Jensen mumbles, head tipped back to keep the foam in his mouth. He looks a little like a kid who was told he won't get a puppy and Jared wants to reach out and ruffle Jensen's hair, still messy from sleep.

"Okay, done," he announces instead with the last swipe of his razor. 

Jensen leans forward and spits into the sink, not waiting for Jared to drain the water.

Jared wipes his face with a towel, watching Jensen slump back again, back against the tiles.

"Do I need to shave too?" he asks, still sounding tired.

Jared drops the towel and shakes his head. "You --" he starts and then blushes a little, shrugging. "You look good with a bit of stubble."

Jensen squints at him. "You've got the hots for me, huh, Padalecki?"

"And you're one to talk? When I woke up this morning you were all over me."

"A man cannot be blamed for cuddling someone else while he's asleep," Jensen argues with a slight smile. "Plus, you're still insisting your mattress is damp and that happened two weeks ago."

"It still feels damp, I swear," Jared insists. "And it smells funny now."

"You really need to get a new mattress," Jensen says with a sigh. "How about we go hit the stores tomorrow and look for a new one? Not that I don't like you sleeping me, but..."

"Yeah, we should probably do that," Jared agrees. "Maybe --"

He's interrupted by loud knocking on the bathroom door. 

"I don't know what the hell you two are doing in there and I really don't want to know, but I need to go to class sometime today!" Misha hollers.

Jensen sighs. "We've been in here for, like, ten minutes," he calls back, but slides off the counter and unlocks the door.

"Were you doing it in here?" Misha asks suspiciously, and Jared feels himself flush even though nothing happened.

"Jesus, Mish. We're still dressed, aren't we?" Jensen asks, pushing past him. "And if you learned to get up a little earlier you wouldn't have to get ready in a rush every single morning."

"I've never been late to a class, so why would I do that?" Misha asks. "You two just need to stop hogging the bathroom to get nasty."

"We were not doing anything," Jared cries out, gesturing at the t-shirt and pajama pants he's wearing.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Misha mumbles, but there's a smile tugging at the corner of his lips that makes Jared relax a little.

He pushes Misha a little as he passes him and Misha pokes him in the sides and then they bat at each other with their hands, laughing, until Jensen groans.

"It's like living with kids," he complains. He takes Jared by the arm and pulls him away, back into his bedroom.

Jared stumbles back into the house eight hours and four classes later.

He hears voices from the living-room and he quickly searches the kitchen for something to eat before going to join his housemates.

To his surprise, he finds Genevieve on the couch with Chris, playing xbox.

"Hey," he says. "What are you doing here?"

Genevieve looks up, lips stretching into a wide smile when she sees him. "Jay!" she says happily. "Hey. You just got back from class?"

"Yeah," Jared replies, flopping down on the couch next to her, carefully balancing a plate with sandwiches in his hands. "Why are you here?"

Genevieve shrugs. "I was bored, thought I'd come hang out," she says. 

"Jensen was here earlier. He wanted us to tell you he's gonna be back by seven and you should be ready to leave then," Chris says, holding his hand out. Jared reluctantly hands him one of his sandwiches.

"Hot date?" Genevieve asks.

Jared shrugs, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Just a concert at some bar Jensen wanted to go to," he says, voice muffled by the food.

"You have no manners," Genevieve says with a grimace.

Jared swallows and grins at her. "Yet, the hottest guy on campus likes me," he singsongs.

"Since when is Jensen the hottest guy on campus?" Chris asks.

"Since I haven't seen anyone who is hotter in the one and a half years I've been living here," Jared replies.

"You're awfully smug about dating him. I remember how you whined for months about how he didn't like you," Genevieve says.

"I never whined," Jared argues, swatting her.

"Hey, we do not hit ladies in this house," Chris says.

Jared gives him a look. "There's no lady present."

"You suck," Genevieve says, kicking him in the shin. "Go pretty yourself up for your boyfriend or he'll dump you sooner than you can blink."

Jared laughs, ruffling her hair before dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "Later," he says with a wave, getting up and taking the empty plate back into the kitchen.

He showers quickly and when he steps into his bedroom, he finds Genevieve sitting in his desk chair. 

"Some privacy would be nice," he mutters.

Genevieve rolls his eyes. "As if I've never seen a dick before."

"Not mine," Jared points out, holding the towel around his waist tightly.

"You're gay. It's not like I'll jump you," she says. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll show you my tits."

Jared grimaces. "No thank you."

"Your loss," Genevieve replies with a smirk. "So."

"So what?" Jared echoes. He opens his closet and turns his back to Genevieve. He ignores her catcalls as he tries to shimmy into a pair of boxer briefs with the towel still around his waist.

"So, talk to me."

"About?"

"Jensen," Genevieve says.

Jared throws a look over his shoulder, eyebrows raised in question. "What do you want to know?"

"How are things between you two?" Genevieve asks. "Has he done the deed yet?"

"What?" Jared asks, grabbing a pair of jeans.

"It sounded more polite than 'has he fucked you yet'," Genevieve says with a shrug. "So. Still a virgin or not?"

Jared pulls on a shirt and then a sweater. "That's between Jensen and me."

"Guess that answers that," Genevieve says with a sigh. "Are you making him wait?"

"I'm not making him wait," Jared says, frowning. "There just hasn't been a right moment yet."

"It's sex. There's no right moment. You just do it," Genevieve points out. "Plus, from what Chris said you two are still sharing a bed every night. How can you sleep next to each other but not sleep _with_ each other?"

"We've only been together for a few weeks," Jared argues.

Genevieve looks at him suspiciously. "He knows you're a virgin, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Just checking," she says with a shrug. "He doesn't mind?"

Jared sighs, sitting on the edge of the desk next to Genevieve. "He knew before we got together," he says. "He found out about it after that horrible date I had. So he knew what he was getting into all along, if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh. Were you already friends back then? I thought you still hated each other at that point."

Jared shrugs. "I guess. We kinda...we hooked up once a few weeks before that," he admits, watching the way Genevieve's eyes widen.

"What? You never told me," she says, hitting his leg. 

"Yeah, well, it wasn't that great. We were drunk and we made out and, uh, some other stuff. He was back to being a dick the next morning and I kinda...never told anyone," Jared says. "And then the Brent thing happened and Jensen changed."

"Cause he realized he liked you?"

"I don't know. He and Danneel both said he liked me pretty much from the get go, that's why he was acting that way," Jared says.

"Then what changed?" Genevieve asks.

"No idea. I think the fact that he found out I was a virgin made him feel kinda guilty about hooking up with me and then being a dick about it."

Genevieve laughs. "Really? He decided to befriend you because you're a virgin?" she asks. 

"Shut up," Jared mutters. "You make it sound weird."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to taint your beautiful love story," she teases. She gets up from the chair and pats his leg. "Anyway, it's good to see you so happy with him. You're good together."

"We are," Jared agrees.

Genevieve leans into him. "Just...you have a hot boyfriend now. Don't be a virgin forever or I might have to pity you."

Jared groans and pushes her away. "I won't be a virgin forever," he says. "Jesus, woman. Give us some time."

"And then tell me all about it," Genevieve says with a grin. "I bet Jensen's good in bed."

Jared kicks her gently. "Get out of here and let me get ready in peace. Annoy Chris or something."

Genevieve salutes. "Will do," she says before leaving the room with a spring in her step.


	3. Chapter 3

The concert is great, even if it isn't really the music Jared's into. Jensen and he sit in a booth at first, drinking and talking. Towards the end of the set, they're both more than a little tipsy -- Jared blames a group of girls, one of whom is in a couple of Jensen's classes and recognizes him. They tried to hit on them at first, before Jensen informed them they were a couple, and then the girls insisted they should have shots together because Jared and Jensen were, apparently, 'adorable'.

They join the crowd in front of the small stage for the last few songs to dance. They're both a little unsteady on their feet and they end up giggling and swaying more than anything.

They take a cab back home, stumbling into the house and trying to be quiet. Back in Jensen's room they strip out of everything but their boxers and shirts and crawl into bed.

"The room is spinning," Jared whispers and then laughs.

"It's dark," Jensen replies, words slurred.

" _I_ am spinning."

Jensen snickers and pulls Jared into a kiss, sloppy and dirty, and Jared hums into Jensen's mouth happily when Jensen slides his tongue past Jared's parted lips. Jensen's hand slide down his body as they kiss, and Jared moans in surprised when Jensen palms his ass and pulls him closer.

"Fuck, Jay," Jensen grunts against Jared's lips. Jared can feel the press of Jensen's cock, hard and hot, against his hip and his own dick is filling rapidly. He rubs himself against Jensen as much as the angle allows, making small, needy sounds. It feels amazing, just being this close to Jensen.

In one fluid motion, Jensen rolls them around, Jared on his back and Jensen on top.

Jared lets out a surprised yelp and Jensen chuckles.

"Shh, just let me," he murmurs, kissing Jared again. He slots his body between Jared's legs, nudging them further apart, and grinds down against Jared.

Jared arches up helplessly, fisting one hand in the hair at the back of Jensen's head and one in his t-shirt. They rock together, Jensen thrusting against him harder and harder as he bites and licks at Jared's mouth.

Jared comes first, moaning into Jensen's kisses, pleasure shooting down his spine.

Jensen keeps grinding against him and Jared digs his fingers into Jensen's arm, the sensation of Jensen rubbing against his spent cock almost too much.

He feels Jensen tense against him, hears him stutter out his name before collapsing against him.

The room is still spinning from too much alcohol, and Jared feels dizzy and sticky and boneless. Jensen is heavy, pressing him down into the mattress, but Jared feels too tired to push him off and he falls asleep like that.

"You two had a good night, huh?" Chris asks with a smirk when Jared and Jensen stumble into the kitchen the next day.

"Leave us alone," Jensen grumbles, and Chris cackles. It makes the dull ache in Jared's head spike up and he bites back a whimper, making a beeline for the coffeemaker. He wouldn't even be up if Jensen hadn't insisted they get up and go buy a mattress for Jared like they'd planned.

"Not in a good mood, I see," Chris teases. "Funny, you seemed to have been in an excellent mood when you came home last night."

"Chris," Jensen says, his tone warning.

"What?" Chris asks, and Jared squints at him over his shoulder.

"We never annoy you when you're hungover," he accuses.

Chris shrugs. "You kept me up last night," he says. "Actually, I think the thumping of Jensen's bed kept up the whole neighborhood."

Jared flushes, his cheeks growing hot, and he quickly turns away, focusing on pouring water into the coffeemaker.

"Chris," Jensen says again, voice strained. "Shut the fuck up, okay?"

"Since when are you so sensitive?" Chris asks.

"Would you just drop it?" Jensen snaps. There's a moment of silence and when Jared turns around, he finds Chris actually looking apologetic.

"I'm leaving you guys alone with your hangovers," Chris says, getting up with his bowl of cereal clutched in his hands.

"Thanks," Jared murmurs, slumping against the cabinets when Chris is gone.

"Yeah. Sorry he was being a dick about the whole thing," Jensen replies with a shrug.

"It's Chris. He's a dick about everything," Jared says, giving Jensen a small smile.

"You're looking pretty dapper there, Kane," Jensen says with a whistle when Chris comes into the living-room.

"I look like I always do," Chris replies with a glare.

Jared studies him for a second. "Really? Cause I swear I've never seen you in a black button-down shirt."

"You shut up, grasshopper," Chris says.

"Guys, it's your turn," Aldis says, a little impatient.

"Right," Jared says, sobering up. "Ladies and gentlemen, watch and be in awe of my skills."

Jensen snickers and Jared shoots him a glare before getting in position. The ping pong ball sails through the air and lands in the bucket at the other end of the room. Both Jared and Jensen whoop and high five.

"What are you guys doing?" Chris asks, looking back and forth between all of them and the bucket.

"A slightly changed, more awesome version of beer pong," Misha says. "We call it 'bucket pong'."

"Bucket pong?" Chris parrots. "Really?"

"It's a very sophisticated game," Jensen says with a nod.

"I don't even see any drinks. What's the point of this game if there are no drinks?" Chris asks.

"To decide who has to go and buy beer, cause we're all out," Aldis says, taking a shot. Misha groans when Aldis misses by an inch.

"And we're totally kicking ass at this game," Jared gloats, handing Jensen a ping pong ball.

"Why am I living with you guys? Hell, why am I even friends with you?" Chris huffs.

"And why are you suddenly acting as if you're more mature than the rest of us?" Jensen sing-songs. "Oh, wait. Let me guess. Cause there's a girl."

"There's no girl."

Jensen grins at Chris when Aldis, Misha, and Jared make disbelieving noises. "Have fun on your date, Chris," Jensen says sweetly.

"Who says I'm going on a date?"

"Your shirt," Misha says.

"Your cologne," Aldis adds.

"The fact that those jeans are ironed," Jared quips up.

"You all suck," Chris grunts.

"And you should be leaving, because it's quarter to eight and you don't want to keep your date waiting," Jensen says.

"Whatever. At least I'm going out. You losers stay in and play _bucket pong_ ," Chris says, rolling his eyes before he leaves.

"We don't have to go out, because we're getting laid either way. The joys of being in a relationship, Christian," Aldis calls after him, chuckling when Chris mutters something they can't make out.

Jared looks away, feeling his stomach twist a little, and glances at Jensen who looks completely unfazed by Aldis's comment. He knows he shouldn't feel guilty about the fact that Jensen _isn't_ getting laid, but he still does a little. He knows it's stupid, because Jensen hasn't done or said anything to imply that they should have sex. Apart from them getting each other off after the concert the previous weekend, Jensen hasn't even tried to do more than making out and some tame touching. He's being the perfect gentleman, but Jared still feels like they should be taking the next step. 

"Okay, match ball," Jensen says, drawing Jared out of his thoughts. "If I sink this one in, we win."

"You'll miss," Misha says confidently. 

"He won't," Jared retorts. He watches Jensen take his shot and it sails right in and he whoops happily.

"Yes!" Jensen exclaims, throwing his hands up before turning towards Jared, wrapping his arms around Jared's neck. 

Jared laughs and leans back, lifting Jensen's feet of the ground a few inches before putting him back down.

Aldis heaves a sigh behind them. "Okay, we're going to the grocery store then."

"Bring plenty of beer," Jared says with a grin. "And chips. And dip. And peanuts."

"Anything else, princess?" Aldis asks.

"Bring tequila so we can do shots," Jensen adds. "We're gonna choose a movie while you're out."

"None of those stupid rom-com movies Jared and Aldis always make us watch," Misha grumbles.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Aldis replies. "Do you, Jared?"

"No," Jared replies earnestly, shaking his head, and high fives Aldis.

The moment the door falls shut behind Misha and Aldis, Jared looks at Jensen with pleading eyes. "Can we watch a stupid rom-com movie?"

Jensen laughs and playfully hits him. "No. Stop trying to get me to do things by using that look on me."

"I'm never using that look on you," Jared argues, following Jensen to the DVD shelf. "What look. There is no look. What are you talking about?"

"Jensen, please get me a coffee cause I'm too tired to get up," Jensen says in a whiny voice that is definitely nothing like Jared's. "Jensen, please let me eat the last of your bread, I'm starving. Jensen, give me a backrub cause I've been lifting books all day. Jensen, please kiss me cause you're the best kisser in the world and I feel like I'm dying a little on the inside each time I have to go without your kisses for a few minutes."

"Oh yeah, I so remember saying the last part," Jared snarks. "You're right."

Jensen looks at him and grins. "All the damn time," he agrees before getting a couple of DVDs from the shelf. " _Godfather, Hangover, Apocalypse Now_. Any of those striking your fancy?"

Jared looks at the DVDs and sighs. "We've seen those a million times and I've only been living here for six months."

"Seven," Jensen corrects. "Okay, what do you want?"

Jared skims the DVDs, frowning. 

"I don't know. We've seen _all_ of these at least once since I moved in," he says after a few minutes of both of them looking through the DVDs.

"We watch too much TV," Jensen says, but then his expression brightens. "Hey, wait. I bought a couple of new DVDs last week. They're still upstairs."

"What d'you get?"

" _True Grit_. Some comedy I never heard of, but my brother said it was great. _Lord of the Rings_."

"You already have all three _Lord of the Rings_ movies," Jared says, following Jensen up the stairs.

"But not the extended edition. I've been wanting to get that box set forever, but it's kinda expensive," Jensen says with a shrug, opening the door to his room. "It was on sale though."

He turns around to face Jared, grinning happily.

"Well, I haven't seen _True Grit_ yet, so I guess I'm voting for that," Jared says, sitting down on Jensen's bed.

Jensen rummages around his bag pack, pulling out a plastic bag. "You didn't watch _True Grit_ in the theaters?" he echoes, surprise coloring his voice.

"No," Jared says, shaking his head. "None of my friends wanted to see it when it came out."

"You need new friends," Jensen informs him. He drops the bag onto the bed next to Jared before straddling Jared's lap with a grin, his hands holding on to Jared's shoulders.

"I already have new friends," Jared replies, sliding his arms around Jensen.

"And we're really happy about that," Jensen says.

"Yeah?"

"Some more than others," Jensen admits, grinning. He dips down and kisses Jared, soft and sweet until Jared tips his head up and deepens the kiss.

Jensen pushes Jared back and the mattress shakes as Jared's back hits it. His arms around Jensen's waist pull Jensen down with him, and Jensen wastes no time bringing their lips back together.

"I fucking love kissing you," Jensen murmurs. He nips at Jared's lower lip, tugging at it playfully.

"Hmm," Jared hums, lifting his head, chasing Jensen's lips until Jensen chuckles and kisses him again. One of Jared's hands is resting on the small of Jensen's back and he pushes the sweatshirt up a little, feels his finger brush against warm, smooth skin. 

They kiss languidly, tongues sliding together. Jensen's body is pressing Jared into the mattress and Jared decides he loves the way it feels, Jensen's weight warm and familiar. He rubs his fingers over Jensen's skin, hears the soft, happy noise Jensen makes in return. Jensen's own hands slide down to the hem of Jared's sweater, tugging at it and Jared shudders when a couple of inches of his skin are revealed.

"Jensen," he murmurs. "Aldis and Misha will be back soon."

Jensen props himself up with one hand, grinning down at him. "We have some time," he promises. He pats Jared's side. "Scoot up a little."

Jared looks at Jensen, hesitating for a moment, before doing as Jensen asked. Jensen sits back, straddling Jared's hips, and pushes Jared's sweater further up, pulling until Jared lifts his body a little to help. He ends up sprawled out with his sweater pushed up to his armpits.

"You're gorgeous," Jensen whispers, before bending down. Jared gasps when Jensen seals his mouth over Jared's right nipple. 

"Fuck," Jared moans, arching up. Jensen's hands are stroking down his sides, settling around his waist, and Jared feels the gentle pressure of teeth around his nipple, tugging a little. Jared moans, twisting his fingers in Jensen's short hair.

"Guys, what --" Aldis voice booms through the room along with the sound of the door slamming open. "Oh shit. Sorry."

Jared jumps, twisting away from Jensen and yelping when Jensen's teeth catch his nipple before Jensen manages to pull back.

"Uh, we're back?" Aldis offers.

Jared feels himself blush and he quickly tugs down his sweater.

"And you couldn't have knocked?" Jensen asks, voice harsh.

Aldis holds up his hands. "Sorry. Sorry. Didn't think you guys would be doing anything while we ran out for drinks," he quickly says. "We're downstairs. Just -- finish this up or whatever and join us."

Jensen sighs as Aldis shuts the door again. He rests his forehead against Jared's shoulder for a moment and mumbles, "Sorry. I really thought they wouldn't be back too soon."

"I wasn't exactly stopping you," Jared says, running his hand down Jensen's arm briefly before pushing himself off the bed. "That was just, uh, awkward."

"Yeah," Jensen agrees with a small laugh. "But I've walked in on the others before too. It happens when five people live in one house."

Jared heaves out a deep breath, straightening his sweater as best as he can, and glances at the door again, as if someone is gonna barge in any second again.

"Jared," Jensen says. "Hey. Come here. Did that really bother you that much?"

Jared looks back at Jensen. He bites down on his lower lip and shrugs. "I guess," he says, voice soft.

Jensen holds out his hand, beckoning Jared to come back to the bed again. Jared hesitates for a moment before sitting down on the edge of the mattress next to Jensen, deflating a little when Jensen's hand comes to rest on Jared's hip.

"Talk to me," Jensen says. "Aldis only saw us making out. What's the big deal?"

"This time," Jared says, looking down at his hands. "I really don't want any of the guys to just walk in while we're doing something else."

"We can lock the door, Jared," Jensen points out. "And hey, we haven't even talked about sex yet. Don't worry about all of that."

"We did that thing after the concert the other day."

Jensen laughs. "That thing, huh?" he repeats before sobering up a little. "Okay, yeah. That happened and it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do seeing as we were both drunk."

"So you wouldn't have done that if you hadn't been drunk?" Jared asks.

Jensen frowns. "Well, no," he says. "Jared, I know this whole thing is pretty new to you and I really don't want to push you, okay? I'll wait. I don't mind. I don't want us to do anything until you feel like you're ready for it."

Jared sighs, wringing his hands together. "It's not about that," he say. "It's just..."

"Just what?" Jensen asks, his voice soft. 

"Don't make fun of me, okay?" Jared says, waiting for Jensen to nod before he continues. "I want it to be -- special, I guess."

"Well, yeah. Doesn't everyone want that?" Jensen replies, and there's not a hint of teasing or amusement in his tone. Jared relaxes a little and shrugs.

"I guess. I mean, I don't need flowers and hearts or anything. But...I don't want to have to worry about someone walking in on us."

"Locked doors," Jensen repeats.

"Okay. I don't want them to come pounding at the door for whatever reason either. And...Chris said they all heard us the other night. I don't want them to _hear_ us," Jared says. "At least not the first time we sleep together."

"I get that," Jensen assures him, giving Jared a smile that makes Jared feel a little lighter. "Jared, we're not in a rush to have sex, okay? But if we do, we'll make sure we have the house to ourselves, okay? I'll kick the guys out if I have to."

Jared nods. "That sounds good," he admits. "And you really don't mind? That we're not having sex yet, I mean."

The look Jensen gives him is kind of fond and Jared smiles when Jensen tugs a strand of hair behind Jared's ear. "I don't mind," Jensen tells him. "It's only been a few weeks -- we have plenty of time for that. I don't want us to sleep together unless we're both sure about it, okay?"

"Okay," Jared agrees. "Thanks."

Jensen smiles and leans in, placing a quick kiss to Jared's lips. "Anything you want, Jay," he murmurs before pulling back. "Now, how about we join the guys and see if they bought all the snacks we asked for?"

He gets up from the bed, grabbing the plastic bag with DVDs from the mattress, and holds his hand on to Jared.

Jared takes it, letting Jensen pull him up with a laugh, and he smiles against Jensen's lips when he pulls Jared into another kiss.

Jared, Jensen, and Aldis are having breakfast in the kitchen the next morning when Chris comes home. His clothes are a little bit more rumpled and he's smiling, pleased.

"Oh god," Jensen groans. "You had sex last night."

Jared chokes on his coffee and Aldis makes a face.

"Please don't come near me until you had a shower," he says, raising his hands as if ready to push Chris away if he comes any closer.

"Whatever," Chris says easily, the smile not fading.

"You had sex and apparently it was good," Jensen corrects himself. "I'm not sure whether or not to ask for details."

"It involved boobs," Jared reminds him, and Jensen grimaces.

"Okay, no details."

"You're just jealous," Chris replies, snagging a bagel from the table before flopping down on the empty chair.

"Of you having sex with a _girl_?" Jensen asks. "Jeez, yeah. I can barely contain myself. I wish I had been in your shoes last night and gotten to...whatever it is you did. And I still don't wanna know."

"Oh, stop acting as if you never slept with a girl and enjoyed it."

Jensen rolls his eyes. "Once. And I was still stupid and confused back then and didn't know how good sex really could be -- so of course I thought I enjoyed it at that point."

Jared chuckles. "Really?" he asks.

Jensen gives him a look. "What? You want me to tell you about it in detail? About how some girl with big boobs and a vagina took my virginity?"

"I think I'll pass," Jared mutters while Aldis and Chris laugh.

"A girl with big boobs and a vagina, huh?" Aldis repeats. "I can't believe you hadn't figured out you were gay before you slept with her, Jensen."

"Shut up. It was all very confusing, okay?"

Chris snorts. "He was confused, all right. It was kinda hilarious, actually," he says.

"Okay, enough," Jensen says firmly, pointing at Chris with his half eaten bagel. "We were talking about you and your secret girlfriend."

"So you do want me to give you details about the sex after all?"

"No," Jensen says, glaring at Chris. "I want to know details about the girl, man. You've never been this secretive about someone before. What the hell is going on, Christian?"

"Look -- we're just trying to figure things out, okay? I'll tell you all about her eventually," Chris promises. Jared watches him and Jensen exchange a look, before Jensen nods.

"Fine," he says.

"So, hey. Different topic," Chris says, brightening a little. "Your birthday's coming up. We throwing a party or what?"

Jared's glad he's just picked up his mug of coffee, because he can hide part of his face behind it and he hopes nobody sees the surprised look on his face. They have a small calendar hanging on a pin-board in the living-room and Jared knows one of the guys marked their birthdays on it, but he never really did more than glance at the thing. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Jensen's birthday was coming up some time in the next couple of months, but he didn't know when exactly. Apparently, it's soon, and Jared feels his stomach drop.

"I don't know if I want a party," Jensen says with a shrug.

"What?" Chris asks. "We always party."

"Med school is kinda keeping me busy this year. And I thought about doing something quiet for a change," Jensen replies, glancing at Jared. Jared tries his best to look casual and not as if he's freaking out on the inside because his boyfriend's birthday is coming up.

"We could do something quiet on your birthday and then throw a party on the weekend," Chris insists. "What day's your birthday this year?"

"Thursday," Jensen says.

Jared prays it's not this Thursday, because that would only give him four days to come up with some awesome present. 

"Perfect," Chris says. "We can have a party on Friday then."

Jensen sighs. "Okay, fine. But nothing huge. Spring break is, like, a week later and everyone will probably party enough then. And I get to approve the guest list."

"Deal," Chris says, holding out his hand and Jensen shakes it over the table.

Jared watches the whole thing with a feeling of horror. If Jensen's birthday is a week before spring break he has one and a half weeks to buy something for Jensen. Technically, he thinks, that's doable -- but most of his days are pretty packed with classes and work and _Jensen_.

"I need your help," Jared says, rounding the counter and dropping his backpack onto the ground.

"You need to shelve those books," Genevieve replies, pointing at the full cart behind her.

Jared sighs. "Yeah, yeah," he says. "But I _really_ need your help."

"With what?"

"It's Jensen's birthday next week and I didn't know," Jared explains. "I need to come up with a good present. Like, right now."

Genevieve purses her lips. "I don't exactly know Jensen that well, Jared. What does he like?"

Jared groans. "I don't know. I've been wracking my brain since yesterday and I can't think of anything good," he says. 

Genevieve sits down at the desk. "Okay, let's see. List his hobbies for me."

"Uh, he's really into movies. Sports. The freak gets up early most days to go running. He loves music. Medicine," Jared lists. "The usual stuff, really."

"And you can't buy him anything related to those things?" Genevieve asks.

"I can't buy him a DVD, Gen. Or like, anything for his studies because that'd be lame," Jared says, deflating a little as he watches Genevieve frown again. "I need something awesome. I just -- I've never been in a real relationship. I don't know what kinda gift is expected of you when you're someone's boyfriend."

"Well, all my previous boyfriends have given me crappy presents to be honest, so I think most guys don't really put any thought or effort into it," Genevieve says with a shrug. "Guess you're golden."

"Gen," Jared whines.

"Okay, okay. We'll come up with something," Genevieve promises. "How much do you wanna spend on him anyway?"

"Uh, well, what I want to spend on him and what I actually can spend on him don't quite match up," Jared admits. "Unless I sell a kidney."

"Okay, so we're aiming for something cheap," Genevieve says. 

Jared slumps, sitting down on the edge of the desk. "I fail at this boyfriend thing."

"Jay. We'll come up with something awesome that'll blow his mind," Genevieve says. 

"We haven't come up with anything so far."

"How about tickets to some concert? Jensen's into that kinda thing, right?" Genevieve suggests after a few moments of pondering.

"I thought about that, too, but tickets for any big name band are really expensive," Jared points out. "And I don't really have a clue about bands that aren't that well known."

"Then ask someone who does," Genevieve says. "I know some people I can ask."

"Yeah?" Jared asks hopefully.

Genevieve nods. "Yeah. Go shelve those books and I'll see if I can find anything that would work."

Jared leans down and presses a kiss to the top of Genevieve's head. "You're an awesome friend, Gen."

"And you're not getting paid for sitting around, so go. Work," she says, shooing him away.

Jared laughs and hops off the desk, grabbing the cart.

At the end of his shift, Genevieve hands him a piece of paper as they walk out of the library together.

"He'll like either of those two."

Jared looks at the two names on the paper. "I've never heard of them," he says. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Believe me, I asked a friend. He assured me Jensen would like those bands," Genevieve says. "See? I told you we'd come up with a good present."

"Okay," Jared replies, pocketing the paper before giving Genevieve a hug. "Thanks for the help."

Jared knocks on Chris's door, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Come in," Chris calls. Jared looks down the hall once more, but the door to Jensen's room is shut and Jared knows that Jensen probably won't come out of his room for the next few hours. When Jared stuck his head in earlier, Jensen had been sitting amidst of a pile of medical books and notes and he'd regretfully informed Jared that he'd be busy studying for the rest of the day.

"Hey," Jared says, shutting the door once he's in Chris's room. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure," Chris says, putting a sheet of music away.

"Was I interrupting anything?"

"Just studying. I don't mind," Chris says with a grin. "So, what's up?"

"It's about Jensen's birthday," Jared starts. "I was wondering if Jensen and I could have the house to ourselves for the evening."

Chris wiggles his eyebrows. "You want some alone time, huh?" he asks.

Jared flushes. "No," he quickly says, though he's really not surprised. Both Misha and Aldis had asked the same thing too, and Jared sometimes really wonders how none of them have figured out that he and Jensen aren't having sex yet. 

Chris laughs. "Hey, nothing to be shy about."

"It's really not about that," Jared swears. "I just want to surprise Jensen with a dinner. Just the two of us. I'd take him out somewhere but I already spent money on his presents, so I can't afford any place nice."

"It's fine. Don't worry, I'll make myself scarce for the night."

"Thanks, man," Jared says, relieved. "Awesome."

Chris gives him a skeptical look. "But how are you gonna make dinner for him if you can't even cook?"

"My mom gave me a fool-proof recipe for chili and Genevieve is gonna come over and help a little, just in case," Jared admits. "And Aldis already offered to buy a bottle of wine for me, so I'm all set."

"Jeez," Chris says. "You need to stop being such a model boyfriend. You're making the rest of us look bad, kid."

"Well, your girlfriend is never gonna know because you're not introducing her to us," Jared replies teasingly.

Chris rolls his eyes. "Right," he says. 

Jared grins. "Anyway. Thanks again," he says. After the shock of finding out he almost missed Jensen's birthday, he's actually starting to feel excited about the day now. And maybe Chris is right -- he isn't too bad at this whole boyfriend thing after all.

Jared glances at the clock hanging at the wall behind the kitchen table. Jensen should be home any minute, and Jared is starting to feel a little nervous. He goes through his mental checklist once more, telling himself everything is taken care of.

The cornbread Genevieve had made is out of the oven and looks just like cornbread is supposed to look. The chili's done and edible -- at least it had been when Jared had tried it for the umpteenth time fifteen minutes ago and Jared can't figure out how anything could have gone wrong with it in the meantime. The table is set, the kitchen is cleaned, and the wine is chilling in the fridge. Jared has showered and changed into clean clothes.

He jumps a little when he hears the sound of a key in the lock and rushes to the front door.

"Hi," Jensen says, looking a little surprised to find himself face to face with Jared as he opens the door.

"Hi," Jared replies and leans down for a quick kiss. "How was your day?"

"Fine," Jensen replies, his lips quirking into a smile. "What's going on?"

Jared shrugs. "Dinner is ready."

"Yeah? You guys ordered pizza or what?" Jensen asks, sniffing the air as he shrugs out of his coat.

"I cooked," Jared says with a small smile, taking the jacket from Jensen and putting it on the coat rack. "And it's just us."

Jensen's eyes widen a little and a smile spreads over his face. "Really?"

Jared nods. "And I promise the food tastes okay," he adds.

Jensen laughs, pulling Jared down into another kiss. "Thank you," he murmurs against Jared's lips.

They break apart and Jared leads Jensen into the kitchen with a hand on his back.

"Nice," Jensen says when he sees the table, smiling at Jared. "You didn't have to go to all of this trouble for me, Jared."

Jared shrugs. "It's nothing," he says. "Sit down and I'll get the food, okay?"

"Okay," Jensen agrees, sitting down obediently. 

Jared swears he can almost feel Jensen's eyes on him as he spoons chili into two bowls, adding cheese on top and bringing the bowls back the table along with the cornbread.

"It smells really good," Jensen says, looking at the chili and then at Jared.

"Yeah?" Jared asks, getting the bottle of wine from the fridge. "Genevieve made the cornbread. And the chili's my mom's recipe -- but I made it myself."

"Well, let them both know I really appreciate this."

Jared sits down across from him once he has poured the wine for both of them. "I'll tell them," he says. 

Jensen grins at him over the table and picks up his spoon. Jared reaches for his own spoon, but he tries to watch Jensen subtly as he tries the food.

"Is it okay?" he asks hesitantly.

Jensen licks his lips and nods. "It's great," he says, and Jared breathes a sigh of relief.

"Good," he says before trying the chili himself.

"Dessert too?" Jensen asks, sounding both surprised and happy.

"Well, I bought the cake at a bakery," Jared admits, handing Jensen a plate with a piece of chocolate cake. 

"Still awesome," Jensen says with a grin.

"I have a present for you, too," Jared adds as he sits down. He hands Jensen the envelope that's been lying next to his elbow throughout dinner.

"Thank you," Jensen says with a small smile. He takes the envelope and opens it, peering inside before pulling the tickets out with wide eyes. "Dude. I love that band!"

"Yeah?" Jared asks hopefully.

"Yes. Chris and I've been to see them a few times already, actually. How'd you know?" 

Jared shrugs. "I didn't. A friend of Genevieve's suggested them."

"Genevieve's friend has a great taste in music then," Jensen says with a smile. "They're not really too well known. A friend of a friend of ours played guitar for them for a while, so Chris and I went to see the first few gigs around town to support them. They're really good."

"Good. I'm glad you like them," Jared says, licking chocolate crumbs off his fork. "I wasn't really sure you would."

Jensen grins at him and then gets up from the table. "Come here," he says, holding his hands out.

Jared laughs softly and gets up, letting Jensen pull him close. Jensen kisses him, smiling against Jared's lips. 

"Happy birthday," Jared murmurs when they part.

"Thank you," Jensen replies. He looks happy and Jared dips down and kisses him again, feeling relieved and proud that he pulled this off, that he's the one who put that look onto Jensen's face.

"Jensen," Jared murmurs when they break apart from a kiss, his hands twisted in Jensen's hair.

"Hmm," Jensen hums, leaning in again. His lips are bruised and red from kissing and Jared lets himself be lured into another one, sighing happily.

"Jensen," Jared says again a little bit more firmly, sliding his hands to Jensen's shoulders to keep him away.

"Yeah?" 

Jared bites down on his lower lip, clearing his throat. "Aldis and Misha are staying with Danneel and with Vicky tonight. And I don't know where Chris is, but he said he wouldn't be home until tomorrow either," he says, a little nervous. "He's probably with his girlfriend, too."

"Okay," Jensen says, looking a little amused. "Can we go back to kissing now? I was kinda enjoying that."

Jared frowns. "I'm trying to tell you something," he says.

"What?"

"We're _alone_ ," Jared says and sees Jensen momentarily falter.

"Jared?" Jensen looks at him, cupping Jared's cheek with one hand. "Really? Are you sure?"

Jared nods.

Jensen looks at him a moment longer, then leans in and kisses Jared softly. "Come on," he says, getting up from the couch, his hand taking Jared's. "Let’s go upstairs. We're not doing this on a couch."

"Okay," Jared agrees with a smile, getting up. He follows Jensen up the stairs, feeling both nervous and excited.

Jensen stops in the hallway, turning to Jared. "Yours or mine?"

"Yours," Jared says without hesitation. He's been sleeping in his own bedroom during the week since they bought a new mattress, but he usually sleeps with Jensen on the weekends and he's mostly just in his room to study these days.

Jensen grins and nods, opening the door to his room, his hand still in Jared's.

"Do you, uh, have stuff?" Jared asks as he sits down on the edge of Jensen's bed, hoping Jensen's answer is yes because Jared definitely doesn't have anything in his room. 

"I got everything we need," Jensen assures him. 

He pulls his sweater over his head and comes to stand in front of Jared, putting one knee on each side of Jared's lap. He lowers himself slowly and takes Jared's face in his hands. He presses a kiss to Jared's forehead before trailing his lips down Jared's nose, his cheeks, before kissing him softly on the lips.

"Okay, last time I'm asking," Jensen says. "You really sure you're ready for this?"

Jared rests his hands on Jensen's hips and smiles softly. "I'm ready."

Jensen returns the smile. "You can change your mind any time, you know that, right?" 

"I know," Jared assures him and he really means it. He wants this and he feels safe with Jensen, knows Jensen will make this good for him. "I trust you." 

"Good," Jensen murmurs, bringing their lips together again.

He pulls away and tugs at Jared's sweater, stripping it off along with the shirt Jared was wearing underneath. 

"Move up," he says, patting Jared's hip before getting up. Jared moves onto the middle of the bed, his eyes trained on Jensen who unbuckles his belt. He watches as Jensen strips off his jeans, hopping around as he pulls off his socks as well.

"Don't fall," he warns with a chuckle.

"I'm the one who knows what he's doing here," Jensen replies with a cocky smirk, down to his boxer briefs now. He crawls back onto the bed, lying down next to Jared, and kisses him. Their lips move together languidly, Jensen's hand trailing down Jared's side.

He feels the first moment of nervousness when Jensen's fingers move to his belt, opening it, before unsnapping the button of Jared's jeans. Jared lets out a surprised gasp when Jensen's hand slides into his boxers, curling around his cock.

"Fuck, Jensen," he says, breaking the kiss when Jensen starts stroking Jared. Jared feels himself harden, his breath coming out in breathless moans. Jensen's hand feels amazing, hot and tight around him, and Jared thrusts into it helplessly. 

He makes a protesting noise when Jensen pulls away suddenly, sitting back. 

"Just wanna get you out of these," Jensen murmurs.

He tugs at Jared's jeans, pulling them down along with the boxers. 

"God, look at you," Jensen says when Jared is completely naked, lying on the bed in front of him. Jared flushes, but he tries not to cover himself up, letting Jensen look at him.

Jensen catches his eyes, smiling. "You're goddamn gorgeous, Jared," he says, kneeling between Jared's legs, and kisses him.

Jared grips Jensen's shoulders, kissing him back eagerly. Their hips slide together; Jensen's boxer briefs the only thing separating them, and Jensen thrusts against him, grinding them together.

"You're gonna make me come before we can do anything," Jared warns, whimpering.

Jensen huffs out a short laugh. "Turn around," he says.

Jared looks up at him, hesitating for a moment before flipping around. He slides his arms under the pillow, burying his face in it, and tries to get comfortable. Waiting for Jensen's touch, he's surprised when he feels Jensen kissing his nape. Jensen slowly trails his lips down Jared's back and Jared shudders when Jensen reaches the top of his ass.

"Jensen," he says, voice cracking. "What --"

"Shh," Jensen whispers. His hands spread Jared's cheeks and before Jared can protest, he feels Jensen's tongue, wet and hot, dragging over his hole.

"Jesus fuck, Jensen," Jared gasps, not sure whether to pull away or rock back. Jensen takes the decision away from him when Jensen repeats the movement. He circles Jared's entrance with his tongue before pressing against it. It feels both amazing and strange.

"Jensen," Jared pleads, and he's not even sure what he's asking Jensen for. Jensen just hums in reply. Jared can feel the vibration against his skin before Jensen's tongue pushes into him, surprising him and drawing a moan from Jared.

He buries his face in the pillow, hoping it will swallow the noises he's making. He rocks back against Jensen's mouth helplessly and he whimpers when he feels Jensen reach around him, wrapping his hand around Jared's cock.

It doesn't take more than a few strokes, Jensen's tongue fucking in and out of him, before Jared feels himself tense.

"Jensen," he warns. "Stop. 'm gonna come."

Jensen gives Jared's cock another hard pull, and Jared spills over Jensen's hand. He whimpers when Jared gives him a few more strokes, kissing the top of Jared's ass before crawling back up. 

"You good?" he murmurs, pressing a kiss to Jared's neck.

"Hmm," Jared hums, not even caring that he's lying right in the wet spot. "I didn't wanna come yet."

Jensen chuckles, his breath ghosting over Jared's skin. "Don't worry. I'm not done with you yet," he says. "Just wanted to take the edge off for you a little."

Jared flips around, boneless, and looks up at Jensen, who's smiling. Jensen kisses him quickly, and Jared wrinkles his nose, grimacing when he thinks about where Jensen's mouth has just been.

Jensen gets a bottle of lube and a condom from the nightstand after wiping his hand on the sheets, placing both on the pillow next to Jared's head. 

"How d'you wanna do this?" Jared asks.

"It's easier on your hands and knees the first time," Jensen admits, and Jared frowns, biting down on his lower lip. 

"I think I'd rather see you," he says.

Jensen nods and kisses the tip of Jared's nose. "We can try it with you on your back," he says. "Okay?" 

Jared grins. "Yeah," he says with a nod. Jensen moves between Jared's legs, nudging them apart before he grabs the lube from the pillow. 

He leans down, kissing Jared, lips sliding over Jared's languidly, and Jared's distracted by the flick of Jensen's tongue against his when he feels the first press of a finger against his hole. Jensen pushes in slowly. It feels foreign, but not really uncomfortable, and Jensen's finger is slick with lube.

Jensen preps him slowly, sliding his fingers in and out of Jared while kissing him and whispering soft words against Jared's skin and Jared can feel the tension drain from his body. The third finger burns a little, but not enough to hurt, and Jared takes a few deep breaths to relax. It feels good, once Jared gets used to the feeling, and he rocks down on Jensen's fingers experimentally.

He feels his nerves returning when Jensen pulls his fingers out, wiping them on the sheets. He reaches for the condom, ripping the foil wrapper open, and rolling it down his cock. Jared watches him before glancing back up at Jensen's face.

Jensen gives him a small smile while he uncaps the lube, squirting some onto his hand.

"Just relax, okay?" he says as he positions himself between Jared's legs. "Now, wrap your legs around my waist."

Jared does as he's told and Jensen meets his lips in a kiss. 

He hisses a little when Jensen presses into him and tries to breathe through the pain. Jensen's cock feels a lot bigger than his fingers, stretching him, but Jensen takes it slow, giving him time to adjust as he slides in inch by inch. Jared tries to keep still, tries not to squirm, trusting Jensen to take care of him.

"Feel okay?" Jensen asks when he's all the way inside Jared, and all Jared can do is nod, breath coming out in pants.

"'kay," Jensen murmurs. He pulls out a little and pushes back in, his gaze holding Jared's. Jared curls his fingers into Jensen's arms as Jensen starts thrusting, the pain fading away slowly.

"You're so tight, Jay. So amazing," Jensen groans. He grips Jared's thighs, hitching them a little higher.

"Fuck," Jared gasps when Jensen's next thrust makes pleasure shoot through his body. "Oh fuck. Do that again."

Jensen laughs, sounding a little breathless, and presses his lips to Jared's in a wet, sloppy kiss. The slide of his cock inside Jared's body feels amazing now, the angle just right, and Jared moves his hips with him. His cock is pressed between them, fully hard again, smearing precome on both of their bellies as they rock together.

He sees spots when he comes, each snap of Jensen's hips harsher now, and Jensen moans Jared's name. His teeth sink into Jared's shoulder, the sting sharp, and Jared moans, body still wracking with aftershocks.

"Why the hell did we wait so long to do this?" Jared asks later, once he's caught his breath. Jensen has moved to lie beside him, their legs tangled, skin sticking together.

Jensen snorts, pulling Jared closer by the shoulder, and kisses him.

"Want a drink?" Misha asks, holding a cup out to Jared.

"Is that your punch?" Jared asks warily.

Misha rolls his eyes. "No. I was under strict order of the birthday boy not to make my punch today," he says. "Danneel made this. Just juice with tequila and ice, I think, but it tastes okay."

"I'll take it then," Jared replies, taking the cup from Misha. He sniffs it before taking a sip. "Not bad."

"Not nearly as good as my punch though," Misha replies.

Jared chuckles. "Uh-huh," he says, taking another swallow. "Hey, I was looking for Jensen. They want him to open his presents."

"I saw him go upstairs earlier," Misha says with a shrug.

Jared raises his cup. "Thanks, man," he says. He walks out of the kitchen and takes the stairs two at a time. The door to Jensen's room is ajar and he can hear Jensen and Danneel talking before he's even reached it.

He knocks on the door, poking his head in and finds them lying on the bed together.

"Hi Jared," Danneel says with a small wave and Jensen smiles at him. "Missing your boyfriend?"

"It's time for the presents, apparently," Jared says with a shrug. 

Jensen sits up, but makes no move to get off the bed. 

"Too bad," Danneel says with a pout and Jared can tell she's already a little drunk. "We were just talking about you."

"Danneel," Jensen says with a laugh. 

"What? We were saying nice things only," she points out, then grins at Jared. "I swear. We were just talking about how awesome we think you are and how much better than Jensen's stupid ass of an ex."

"Thanks, I guess," Jared says, glancing at Jensen.

Jensen gives him a small, apologetic smile. "She's drunk."

"I'm an honest drunk though," Danneel says with a shrug, sliding off the bed. She presses a sloppy kiss to Jared's cheek before sauntering out of the room with a wave.

"Go drink some water," Jensen calls after her. He pats the bed next to himself when Danneel is gone, and Jared joins him after putting his drink carefully onto the nightstand.

"So I'm awesome?" he asks, settling down next to Jensen.

Jensen laughs and kisses him. "You're awesome," he agrees. 

"I'm glad you realized that. Eventually."

Jensen chuckles, lying back on the bed with a heavy thud, making the mattress bounce a little. Jared lies down next to him.

"I was supposed to come get you," he says. "Presents, remember?"

Jensen takes Jared's hand in his, intertwining their fingers. "Just give me a few minutes," he replies, turning his face to smile at Jared.

"Good birthday?" Jared asks after a few moments of silence, brushing their lips together.

"Best birthday ever," Jensen answers, voice soft.

Jared ducks into the building, hair wet from rain. He has thirty minutes before the next class starts, and he plans to just run into the library quickly to get a few books he needs for a paper that he wants to write over spring break. He comes to a halt however when the counter comes into view.

Genevieve is behind it, and she's beaming at Chris who's standing on the other side, their hands clasped on the counter.

Jared gapes for a moment, watching them, and then quietly backs out of the library again.

He's not sure whether to feel pissed that Genevieve and Chris have kept this from him or feel happy for them. He keeps thinking about them during his class, and he decides to skip going to the library afterward to get the books in favor of getting home quickly.

Jensen is in his room, and Jared knocks on his door before entering without waiting for Jensen's reply.

"Hello, dear. How was class?" Jensen asks with a smirk when Jared flops down on his bed with a sigh.

"I saw Chris and Gen. _Together_ ," he says. When Jensen doesn't answer right away, he looks up at him and finds Jensen looking a little sheepish.

He sits up. "You knew?" he asks.

Jensen shrugs. "Chris told me a couple of weeks ago," he admits.

"And you didn't think you should tell me?" Jared asks.

Jensen sighs. "Jared. It wasn't my news to tell," he says. "Chris asked me not to tell you."

"Why would they keep it a secret?"

"Because they wanted to see if things could work out between them before telling everyone," Jensen says. "Come on. Don't be mad at them."

"I just...okay, I get that they didn't want to tell _everyone_ right away, but I'm Genevieve's best friend." 

Jensen frowns. "You've spent most of your free time with me lately, Jared."

"So?"

"We're in the honeymoon phase, Jared," Jensen says with a soft laugh. "We're kinda joined at the hip right now. I guess some people would say we're a little bit annoying, even."

"So being part of an annoying couple means your friends can't talk to you anymore?"

"It means when your friend starts seeing someone but they're both not sure where it's going, she's maybe a little reluctant to tell a guy who's probably the biggest fan of relationships right now."

Jared frowns. "You think a lot of yourself, don't you?"

Jensen scoffs. "Oh come on, admit it."

"Okay, fine," Jared says with a sigh. "I'm happy right now. That doesn't mean she couldn't have talked to me about this. It's not wrong that I want her to be happy, too."

"It's not wrong," Jensen assures him. "But Gen wasn't keeping this from you to hurt you. Both she and Chris just wanted some time."

"But Chris told _you_?"

"Not right away. Genevieve was going to tell you soon, too, I bet," Jensen says. 

Jared sighs and flips around onto his stomach, resting his chin on his hand. "So, you think it's working between them?"

Jensen shrugs, pushing a strand of hair out of Jared's face with a smile. "Chris seems pretty happy, doesn't he?"

"Yeah."

"I think they really like it each other. They were just kinda surprised by it and they're trying to figure the whole thing out."

"Okay," Jared says. "So you think I should bring it up or wait until she tells me about it?"

"Wait until she's ready to talk about it. I'm sure it'll happen soon," Jensen says, and Jared nods with a sigh.

"I guess I can do that."

Jensen smiles and leans in, kissing him. "You're a good friend, Jared."

"A good boyfriend too?"

Jensen laughs. "Yeah, that too."

Jared is drinking down a glass of milk, putting the carton back into the fridge when he hears footsteps and moments later someone slaps his ass.

He lets out an indignant yelp, turning around. He expects to find Jensen there, even though he left him fast asleep in their bed, but finds Misha instead.

"You really need to stop groping me," Jared mutters.

Misha laughs. "I couldn't resist, what with you standing around in the kitchen in a pair of boxer briefs," he says, looking Jared up and down. Jared hits him over the head.

"Stop that, perv," he says.

"You're putting on a show," Misha points out.

"I didn't expect to run into anyone," Jared says. "It's the middle of the night."

Misha shrugs. "Vicky and I got hungry."

"Are you high?" Jared asks suspiciously.

"Surprisingly, no," Misha replies with a smirk. "And as if you're one to talk. You're raiding the fridge in the middle of the night too."

"I'm drinking milk," Jared points out. "And I'm a growing boy."

"Are you?" Misha asks suggestively, chuckling.

"Oh god," Jared groans. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay," Misha replies happily. "Oh, and hey. If Jensen's asleep already and you're bored, feel free to drop by my room. Vicky and I would be more than willing to entertain you."

"You really need to stop hitting on me," Jared points out, but they're both grinning at each other.

"Never. You're too damn attractive," Misha says. 

Jared shakes his head in amusement. "Night, Mish," he says, leaving Misha alone in the kitchen.

Jensen is still asleep, and Jared tries to be quiet as he tiptoes up the bed and slides under the comforter. 

"Jared?" Jensen mumbles, eyes opening into small slits. "Where'd you go?"

"Just got something to drink," Jared replies in a whisper. "Sorry. Go back to sleep."

"Hmm," Jensen hums. "Come here."

He slides his arm around Jared's waist and Jared shifts closer. He smiles when he feels Jensen kiss the corner of his mouth sleepily and makes a content noise, nudging one leg between Jared's.

"Good night," Jared whispers, but Jensen is already asleep again, breathing steadily.

Jared blinks into the darkness, barely able make out the lines of Jensen's face, and smiles. Tomorrow, he thinks, he's going to talk Jensen into staying in bed all day -- the perfect way to start spring break together -- and he's going to do nothing but look at Jensen all day, kiss and touch him as much as he wants. 

And then he's going to send Chad a gift basket, because Chad ditching him has probably turned out to be the best thing that has ever happened to Jared.


End file.
